Fun Without Risk
by Avatar Obsession
Summary: * Read Forget Me Not beforehand* A year after their escape, everything seems to be going well for Toph and Teo. But when Katara asks a favor of Toph, things start spinning out of control, especially when bridesmaids and bounties get involved.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm ba-ack! If haven't read Forget Me Not, please check it out! It'll help you understand what's going on here a whole lot better ;)**

"Katara," Sokka pressed again, his voice rising with accusation, "that _isn't_ mom's necklace."

Toph could feel Katara's heartbeat quicken as her hand flew to her neck, clasping the ornamental jewel which, as Sokka had already pointed out, was new.

"It's not…" she said softly, a small smile forming across her lips.

Aang walked up from behind and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and Katara lay her head on his shoulder. A year ago, Toph would've gagged at the scene, but now she just shook her head jokingly at their splays of affection. Currently, she admitted, Toph had become much more accepting of the mushy gestures of lovebirds, as she'd given in and become one herself.

She leaned closer to Teo, laughing inwardly at how she'd become this way. Nearly a year and a half ago, he'd rescued her from a conspiring plot devised by her father including brainwashing and an arranged marriage, and the nature of their relationship had changed ever since; she'd given in and allowed her little crush that had developed on him to grow into something much larger, and now she, the Blind Bandit, had turned into one of those mushy, gushy, puke-your-guts-out sappy girlfriends that she used to mock endlessly.

Even the rest of the gaang's favorite pastime was to poke fun at the youngest couple; that is, when they could risk getting Toph ticked off. Luckily for them, yet begrudgingly to her, Teo could usually manage to sweet talk her out of murdering them all.

Oh yes, in the last year, so much had changed. Although it still wasn't her preferred pastime, she'd grown more accustomed to flying, mostly due to Teo's insistency that it was the quickest way to travel. The gaang had officially become her immediate family in her mind, seeing as she couldn't even think of her own without cringing with anger. Quite gladly, they hadn't heard a thing from the Bei Fongs since her escape. Before, she'd only drawn attention to her surname in order to get things her way; now, she even thought twice before doing that, and nine times out of ten she would decide against it. She had even taken to putting a little more time into her appearance, if only sacrificing enough effort to comb through her hair, which she often allowed Teo to style into a simple ponytail rather than her old bun. The gaang liked to joke that love looked good on her.

She was still, without a doubt, champion of the Earth Rumble, although now her fellow competitors posed more as older brothers than enemies outside of the ring. Quite amusingly, they would often threaten Teo about hurting their "baby sister", which for the first long while would terribly frighten the poor boy, but now he just laughed at the threats and reassured them, growing used to their rough exteriors.

On Toph's end, Teo's father seemed quite fond of her. Deciding she should no longer stay at the now-lonely girls' apartment in Ba Sing Se, the Mechanist had given Toph her own room at the Northern Air Temple, and treated her nearly like his own daughter, one of the family, for all of which she was greatful. It was nice to, for once, live in a home where everyone coexisted, and accepted each other for who they were instead of trying to change them. A couple of times she'd slipped, and nearly called him "dad".

Aang cleared his throat nervously, and Toph refocused her attention on the two standing next to the outdoor table they were all sharing. Their pulses were both beating erratically; whatever this was, it was going to be good.

"We have an announcement to make," Katara said, twittling her fingers.

Aang grinned. "We're engaged," he finished for her.

The entire group was quiet for a few seconds, processing this information.

"Wha…" Sokka said shrilly, looking from one of them to the other, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Suki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulate them," she hissed loudly.

"But," he squeaked again, pointing at the couple.

Suki smacked his finger. "Now."

Sokka sighed. "Fine…congratulations," he said, eyes narrowed at Aang, who was slowly inching behind Katara, away from her angry brother.

Toph laughed at his childish, overprotective reaction. She could feel Teo grin behind her, and soon the bride-and-groom to be were surrounded by the majority of the outdoor dining area, everyone chattering excitedly and fussing over Katara's betrothal necklace.

Toph leaned her head back. "As if they all didn't see it coming," she muttered jokingly into Teo's ear, causing him to snicker.

Katara made her way through the crowd and over to where they were still sitting, avoiding the swarms.

"Congrats, Sweetness," Toph said, acknowledging her presence.

"Toph," Katara grinned, "I want you to be one of my bridesmaids."

Toph simply blinked, awestruck. She could barely fathom the thought of herself being a bridesmaid, _her_. Sugarqueen had to be joking…Unfortunately, she'd sounded completely sincere with the request, and, if at all possible, felt like she was radiating with an unnatural sort of energy as she waited patiently for Toph's answer.

Teo elbowed her lightly, urging her to hurry up. Toph sighed at the feeling of dread for what she was about to say. "Sure," she said through a slightly fake smile.

Although she'd thought impossible, Katara grinned even wider. "Thank you so much," she chirped, before scurrying off to rejoin the crowd, and not doubtingly, fawn over her fiancé.

Toph thought of the inescapable barrage of dresses, heels, flowers, and the indefinite soon-to-be bride_zilla_ and groaned, holding her head in her hands. "What have I just gotten myself into…" she complained.

Teo shook his head, smiling. "Come on, she's your best friend, it's the least you can do," he said. "Besides, you never know- it might be fun," he reassured.

She groaned again. "Yeah right…that's what you think. You've obviously never seen Katara stressed."

"Look at her, she's so happy!" Teo laughed.

Toph faced him, her blank eyes staring flatly. "That won't last long.:

Teo grinned again. "Come on," he said, looking over at the ever growing crowd of nosy spectators at the other side of the yard, "it's getting late. We should probably start heading back soon. Besides, I don't think we'll be too missed," he joked.

Toph laughed. "The sooner we get away from _them_, the better," she agreed. There were too many people…it was starting to interfere with the vibrations.

She pushed back her chair and stretched, letting out a small yawn. She stood, and the two made their way to the road.

"So," Teo asked once they'd reached the marketplace, "are you going to be lazy as usual and just get on now, or are you going to wait until we get to the _actual_ takeoff point?"

"Um," Toph pretended to think. "III-'m gonna be lazy." She smirked and plopped down onto his chair without a second thought.

Teo rolled his eyes and chuckled. "As I figured…" he joked.

The leaves of a nearby bush rustled. She hadn't detected much of a breeze, but it was apparent that there must be one. Toph thrust her arms forward, and a pillar of rock shot them joltingly into the air as they started off for home.

Teo kissed her cheek as they got ready to part ways at the Temple. "Good night," he said. Toph suppressed a blush as she felt his gaze linger for a moment before turning around, heading down the hall to his own room.

"'Night," she called after him. She shook her head; sometimes she just couldn't figure that boy out. She stepped into her room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the closet taking up most of the left side of the medium sized room that was stocked with a mostly new wardrobe, and pulled out a pair of sleep-pants and a tank top, quickly changing for the night and throwing her worn clothes in a pile in the corner by the door.

She pulled the elastic band out of her hair and shook her head, letting her long hair fall freely about her. She stretched the band back across her finger and let it fly across the room, bouncing off the window and landing not on the intentional dresser below it, but rather on the floor.

She signed and ignored this, instead going over and pulling back the thick, plush covers of her bed and crawling inside, burying herself in the warmth. One thing she still hadn't gotten used to was the chill, even in the middle of summer, of the mountain peak that the Temple was built on.

Nestling herself amongst the many pillows, Toph rubbed her eyes, thinking once again about being stuck as a bridesmaid. She knew exactly how Katara could get when she was freaking out about something. Unless she tried her best to steer clear of the immediate stress center, otherwise known as Katara in general, Toph thought, the fact that the next few months were going to be Hell would be a tragic understatement.

**Eh, a little choppy, but it's gotta start out somehow, doesn't it?**


	2. Chapter 2

"Toph, it's time to get up," she could hear the Mechanist's voice, although muffled through the pillows encasing her head, calling from the doorway.

"Rmf…" she groaned, sorrily attempting to push herself up from her stomach, giving up instantly, preferring to remain eagle-sprawled on the bed. During her short excuse of lifting herself up, the pillows burying her head and upper shoulders had tumbled to the floor, and with the comforter twisted down by her waist, the air slightly chilled her thinly-clothed back, sending a small shiver down her spine.

She folded her arms in front of her, using them as a makeshift pillow, hiding her face in the crevice, allowing her stale breath to warm her nose and cheeks.

"Five more minutes..." she mumbled, turning her head to the side for fresh air as she tried to doze back off.

The Mechanist tisked. "It's almost midday; the rest of the Temple's already up and about, and Teo's getting ready to leave for town. If you don't want to be left behind, I highly suggest that you get out of bed."

Toph groaned again and turned toward the door, eyes still closed. "Can't he wait?" she bit.

"He has been waiting. All morning, in fact."

"Ugh…fine," Toph grumbled, exaggeratingly dragging herself into a sitting position. She hear the door shut softly, and she stretched and pulled back the rest of the covers, turning and dropping her feet on the cold stone floor. With another yawn, she stood and made her way slowly to the closet, and pulled out one of the folded outfits that one of the girls at the Temple had painstakingly put together and organized for her.

She changed quickly, throwing her nightclothes into the pile of clothing accumulating by the door. She picked up a comb from the table below the window and quickly brushed her hair, which unfortunately had acquired several large knots and tangles throughout the night that she impatiently ripped the comb through until she deemed that her hair was kempt enough.

She put the comb back where it had been and picked up a small elastic band, stretching it around her wrist before opening the door and shuffling, still groggy, down the hall and to the right, entering the kitchen.

"Mornin' Sleepyhead," Teo chirped. She narrowed her eyes in his direction as she made her way over to the counter and took a seat. It was too early to be this _perky_, Toph thought; just one more thing that she could never understand about him.

"I see you managed to drag yourself up after all," the Mechanist joked, handing her a cup of rooibos tea from behind the counter.

"Thanks Fakih," she said, taking a sip and letting the hot liquid warm her from the inside.

Teo wheeled up from behind her and gathered her hair in his hands, and she held back her arm for him to grab the band, which he expertly twisted into her hair as the Mechanist left for his workshop.

"You know," Teo said, "I guest her is a bright side to you constantly sleeping so late."

Rotating in her chair to face him, Toph raised an eyebrow, which she was hoping was over the rim of her cup. "And that would be…?"

He chuckled. "We never have to wait before going out for lunch," he joked.

Toph rolled her eyes, trying not to smile at his optimism. "Whatever."

She downed the last of her tea and put the cup back on the counter. Her stomach rumbled, and Teo laughed.

"See? What'd I tell you; it's time for lunch!" He said.

Toph got down from her chair and grinned. "Alright, I give in. Let's go."

Teo called behind them as they reached the door. "Dad, we're leaving!"

"Have fun kids, be careful!" The Mechanist called back, and Teo smiled, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, we will!"

They made their way to the nearest takeoff point and Toph climbed onto the chair, disconnecting herself from the Earth. Teo sped the chair forward, and off the mountain they went, soaring their way to the city.

Toph stretched as Teo leaned his glider against the wall of the restaurant for safekeeping before they entered. They were met at the door by a stuffy waiter who Toph could feel sneering down at them. Teo reached into his tunic and pulled out a small sack, depositing a large amount of coins into the waiter's hand before putting it away.

"Table for two, please," he said.

The waiter sighed. "May I ask whom I am serving today?"

Teo smirked. "Quey-Rin. Teo Quey-Rin," he said coolly. "And guest," he gestured to Toph, who suppressed a snort.

"Very well," the waiter said, not trying to mask his obvious boredom, and turned around to lead them to a table.

Teo started to follow smugly, and Toph punched him lightly on the arm, laughing. "You're just excited that you're old enough to order your own table," she joked.

"Do I look like I'm denying it?" he smirked.

Toph shook her head, and they followed the waiter to the back of the restaurant. They sat down and Teo ordered for the both of them.

"Wow," Toph said as they were waiting for their food, "so Twinkle toes and Sugarqueen… I'm not at all surprised, it's just…big," she softly exclaimed.

Teo nodded. "It kind of wakes you up a bit."

"Yeah."

"And then Sokka and Suki last year," he reminded her.

Toph snickered. "Now _that_ was a surprise. Who would've thought Boomerang Boy would settle down," she laughed. "He's lucky Suki puts up with him."

Teo sighed. "You know, it all kind of makes you realize how much has changed," he muttered.

Toph cocked her head. "What'd'ya mean?" she asked.

"Everyone's all seriously growing up," he explained. "We're not just this group of kids who saved the world anymore…we're turning into adults taking it on," he said sadly.

Toph thought about this for a few minutes, taking it all in. "Yeah…I guess you're right," she said slowly.

It was quiet for a few seconds, before she suddenly grinned. "Think about it this way: there's now ay we're ever going to change."

"Yeah, there's no way," Teo laughed, right as their food arrived.

The second the waiter put her plate in front of her, Toph grabbed her chopsticks and started shoveling picken haphazardly in other mouth. "Finally," she muttered between mouthfuls.

"No need to be civilized," Teo chortled.

Toph swallowed and pointed a chopstick at him. "Don't push me," she threatened.

Teo grinned sheepishly. "Love you?" he offered.

Toph rolled her eyes and let out a curt sigh. "Yeah, whatever," she joked. "Just don't mess with me while I' m eating."

Teo grinned. "Can do." He picked up his own utensils and began to eat.

When they'd finished eating and were joking around, Toph noticed that Teo'd gotten quieter, and was positioned in a vacant stare.

"Hey," she said, knocking him on the arm, "what's up?"

"Nothing. That person over at the other table just looked kind of familiar," he pondered.

Toph stomped to get a better picture of them, and shrugged. "I've never met them before."

Teo shook his head. "Probably just a trick of the light," he muttered.

Toph kicked her chair back. "So, are we just gonna sit around here all day, or are we actually going to do something fun?" she complained, growing tired of the inanimate atmosphere of the restaurant.

Teo chuckled. "And what specifically do you have in mind?"

Toph sighed. "I dunno; anything but sitting here," she exclaimed.

"Anything it is," Teo teased. He left a tip on the table for the not-so-useful waiter, and the two headed off toward the middle ring.

Toph noticed that the man from earlier left just as they did, and seemed to be heading the same direction. If she hadn't known better, she'd think he was following them, she thought humorously.

"You know," Teo said as they made their way past a few small shops, "you should probably check with Katara about what you have to wear in the wedding soon."

Toph groaned. "Do I have to?" she whined.

Teo laughed. "Unfortunately, yes," he joked.

"I'll do it later." Toph grumbled, most certainly not looking forward to whatever filly contraption she had planned.

Teo grinned. "You know you're not going to," he said.

Toph punched him in the arm. "Yes I will!" she argued. He was probably right, seeing as the last time she was stuck in a dress was something she couldn't, and preferred not to, remember, and she wasn't too keen on doing it again. But, being the stubborn person she was, there was no way she'd let him know that.

"Of course you will," Teo said sarcastically.

Toph laughed. "Shut up, Shorty."

**I'm starting off this story with an update roll, awesome! **

**Still kind of rough, but the real plot is still yet to be introduced. **

**Let me know what you think so far!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was a long and valiant effort but, just over a week before the wedding, Toph realized that she couldn't put off buying her dress any longer. Sure, Katara had already picked it out, so all she had to do was allow them to fit it, and she'd managed to talk her out of making her wear heels, but nevertheless, Madame Rin's House of Dresses and Gowns, with its snobby tailors and clerks, suffocatingly thick layers of perfume saturating the air, and irritating little harpist playing delicately in the corner, was not Toph's preferred place to spend the afternoon. And unfortunately for her, that was exactly where she and Teo found themselves.

Toph was standing on a raised platform with her arms outspread, a strapless dress cutting tightly above her chest yet hanging loosely the rest of the way down to her knees, as an old, plump tailor woman kneeled down by her waist, pinning the dress precariously close to her skin.

Another thin, boney woman was walking around her with a piece of rope in her hands, running it through them to measure Toph in various places and scratching down numbers on a stack of parchment. The woman wrapped the rope around Toph's chest and tisked. "This needs to be let out up top," she said to her companion nasally.

"These measurements are all wrong… did the woman ordering the dress even meet this girl?" she muttered as she wrote down more measurements.

Toph sighed and blew a stray hair out of her face, shooting Teo a bored look. She shifted from one foot to another and slouched slightly.

"Hold still!" the skinny woman shouted, trying to wrap the rope around her waist. She tugged at the fabric, which was quite baggy in that area, stretching it closer to Toph's skin. "Another one here," she said to her squat partner.

The old woman grunted and proceeded to work on pinning the side of the dress.

A shark prick stabbed Toph in the hip, and out of instinct she went to shoot the ground up beside her, but caught herself in time, only giving the fat old lady a jolt. "Watch it!" she snapped, resisting the urge to rub her side, which was stinging.

"If you would just stand still, you wouldn't get pricked," the woman complained gruffly.

The tiny woman had put away her stack of parchment and was now tweaking with the dress. She halted the tailor and stood back to admire her work, returning to place another pin here and there, before finally clasping her hands, smiling broadly.

"There," she exclaimed," just one more touch."

She walked to the other side of the room and pulled a thing strip of a wispy material off of a small rack. When she came back, she wrapped the silk around Toph's back, draping it over her arms in front. Toph's upper lip furled in disbelief; really? A dress scarf?

The woman beamed, and turned to Teo. "Well, young man, what do you think?" she asked.

Teo made some sort of incomprehensible noise, his mouth agape. Toph slouched again impatiently. "Really? Is it _that_ bad?"

Teo stammered. "Wha…no, its...guh…"

The skinny woman chuckled and walked over to Toph, grabbing her shoulders from behind and leaning into her ear. "Oh my, he's speechless," she said, her spiteful voice laced with the fake, syrupy tone of a giggling teenager.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now, could you get me out of this thing?" she complained, gesturing sharply downward at the dress, which was beginning to itch.

The woman's act flattened again. "Fine; follow me," she said bitterly, grabbing onto Toph's arm, her bony fingers digging sharply into her bare skin, and yanking her off of the platform.

"Seriously, what is _with_ you people? Watch it!" Toph yelled again. "I don't like being _handled_!"

Oblivious to her complaints, the woman led her to a small room at the back of the shop.

"Here," she said, thrusting Toph's own clothes into her hands, shoving her into the cramped changing room and shutting the door.

Toph sneered; could that lady be any more of a prick? She quickly tried to wriggle out of the dress, which, she noticed, was not the easiest task, considering it was nearly skin-tight. In her struggle to pull it up over her head, she felt a pin fall out and hit the floor, echoing with a small "tink".

The woman pounded on the door. "Careful in there!"

Toph sighed, and tried to change slower, but to no avail. By the time she got the dress off, at least four more pins had worked their way out of the fabric, rolling under the short bench against the back wall. She knew exactly where they had gone, but she didn't bother to retrieve them, wanting to spite "Miss Priss" out there.

When she had situated herself back in her own clothes, she gathered the dress from its heap on the floor and exited the cubicle, where the woman was waiting.

Toph smirked as she dumped the crumpled up article into her arms, satisfied at the horrified sound of disgust the woman had just emitted.

"Happy?" she asked.

The woman simply shook her head and stalked away.

"So, does that mean I can go?" Toph called after her. With no reply, Toph just shrugged and assumed that it meant "yes".

As she headed back towards the front of the store, where Teo was waiting, the bell chimed on the front door, and she felt a large, burly man enter the shop. She almost laughed; he seemed about as out of place in a dress shop as she felt. He was followed by two more men of equal stature, and the vibrant chatter of the society women fell to a hush as everyone stared at the door, the only sound being the mindless plucking of the harpist in the corner, who too was intrigued by the men's sudden appearance.

Toph quickly weaved her way through the racks of clothing and over to Teo as the men stood inanimate in the doorway, surveying the shop.

"What's going on?' she whispered.

"Uh, Toph?" Teo stammered. "I don't think these guys are here for gowns…"

As if on cue, the man in the front of the posse thrust a fist diagonally, sending a wave of stone through the length of the shop, causing a few blouse racks and jewelry stands to go flying across the room. A few onlookers screamed shrilly, and the harpist fainted, falling limply over her large instrument.

The man paced slowly through the center of the store, and Toph pulled Teo behind a wooden shelving unit, concealing them from his view.

"Sh…" she pressed a finger to her lips and put both hands flat on the ground where she was crouching, trying to amplify the vibrations.

The man had stopped just feet away from where they were hiding, and his cronies were now blocking the exit. The chuckled mockingly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little girl," he sang. "I know you're in here. Your daddy is very upset that you've run off again." He grinned mockingly, daringly.

Toph tensed. No, he couldn't mean…

"Little girl," he called again, "don't be afraid, we won't hurt you." He laughed coldly, and a wave of hot adrenaline rushed through Toph's veins.

"Toph, don't!" Teo cried, but it sounded as if she were underwater as she jumped up to face the man.

"Afraid?" she laughed. "Ha! Anything _but_." She spat on the ground at the man's feet, and he sneered down at her.

"Finally… we've been lookin' for you for a while now, little lady. You thought you had it off easy, didn't 'cha?"

The crowd gasped as the two cronies at the door suddenly charged forward, heading toward her. In one swift movement, both other her arms shot up, and the men were flying into the air, crashing into walls on opposite sides of the room before slouching, partially stunned, on the floor.

The man in front of her grimaced. "We're bringin' you home," he growled, lunging forward.

Toph ducked. "Over my dead body!" she mocked.

The man tried several times to encase her in stone, each of which Toph easily counteracted, sending rubble flying into his face. His heart rate increasing from the frustration of trying to catch the agile girl, he grunted. "Can do."

He shot a series of rocks from different spots around the room at random. They were easy enough to dodge, but after a while it was becoming more and more difficult to tell where they were coming from; at one point, a jagged stone grazed her arm, tearing her sleeve. She focused harder as the speed of the assaults increased.

The man made a sharp cutting motion, and in her concentration she didn't notice the earth moving beneath her until she was whipped off center, falling face first onto the ground. She could feel Teo suddenly move into action, grabbing a strip of the airy material and coming up behind the man when he wasn't looking, pulling it over his head and wrapping it around his torso, splinting his arms down at his sides. Toph felt a boulder the size of a moose-lion smash down into the ground not even a yard away from her; she realized that he was going to use it to kill her.

The two men on the ground were on the move again. One was heading right towards where she lay on the floor. She sprung up and momentarily detained him by sinking his him into the ground. The other assailant, however, was running in the opposite direction, seemingly back towards the door.

"Now!" the man Teo had been holding back yelled, ripping the dress scarf binding him and knocking Teo out of his chair. The agent at the other side of the room suddenly tossed the small harpist woman aside, taking over the instrument and playing a series of strings.

Toph heard Teo gasp. "No…" he muttered. "Cover your ears!" he shouted, trying to warn the crowd. But it was already too late; they were already intoxicated by the melody, and began to drop to the floor.

Toph tried to cover her ears, but the man in front of her had reached around with lightning fast reflexes and had grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms behind her back. She tried as hard as she could to refrain from listening to the tune, but it fought its way into her ears like those damn dress pins. She noticed that slowly, her struggling against the agents had begun to weaken, until no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move.

The contour images sensed from the earth faded away in suit, and she could barely do anything but listen helplessly to the scene surrounding her.

"Toph," she heard Teo cry, his voice, too, sounding weak. Within seconds, the tune was all she could hear, and she slipped unconscious.

**According to the MLIATLA calendar, happy Official Toph Day!  
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**Haha, the first cliffy! And so the plot thickens...**

**You know the drill, review review review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Toph groaned and rubbed the back of her head, which was pounding. The ache was caused by a bump located to the right and about halfway down the back of her skull. Damn that Dai Li agent, he only got her using some cowardly cheating tactic. If he'd have just fought her like a man and she'd been of full ability, she wouldn't be in this situation.

She pushed herself up off of the ground, the sudden movement causing another pain at the back of her head, and sat with her back against what felt like a wall behind her. Deciding to try to assess where she was, she planted her palms face down on the ground, and panicked slightly when she became more alert and realized that she couldn't feel any vibrations coming from the environment.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on her other senses. The room was average temperature, but dry, and smelled earthen, confusing her as to why it wouldn't give off any readings. Wherever she was, it was nearly silent, the only noise being the soft, nearly invisible tune of a harp nearby. Harp…

She knocked her head on the wall behind her, immediately regretting the gesture as another sharp pain shot through her skull, but she deserved the pain. How could she be so ignorant? Toph tried to force up the earth next to her, and her suspicions was confirmed; that music was blocking her bending._ Again_.

She heard a quiet moan beside her, causing her head to immediately whip towards the sound.

"Teo?" she asked, hopeful that he was here with her. She knew that it sounded imbecilic, but she'd much rather be powerless with him rather than some stranger, or worse, an enemy.

"What's going on?" Teo's voice responded groggily, and she laughed at her own sigh of relief.

"I don't know, I can't even tell where we are!" She exclaimed, still frustrated.

Teo was quiet for a second. "I think… that we're in some kind of cell," he muttered.

"What?" Toph asked in disbelief, jumping up, feeling the blood rush to her head in the process, causing her head to pound again. She felt her way along the wall and around the cell, noting the small length of the walls, until her hands grasped thick wooden bars.

She leaned her forehead against the bars. "Damn…" she muttered, again cursing the agent."Grah! Let us out!" she shouted through the bars, trying to attract the attention of somebody, anybody.

She heard someone enter the room outside of the cell, and Teo gasped behind her.

"Not until you come to your senses," said the person sternly. It only took the sound of his voice to make her blood boil…She gripped the bars tighter in anger, and grit her teeth. She shouldn't be surprised, but the realization that her father was lowering to locking her away again sickened her.

She scowled wordlessly, and Lao tisked.

"Now Toph, you must understand. It's not that I want to do this to you, it's just that as you're getting older, it's becoming more and more desperate that I reach you," he said, softening his tone slightly.

Toph made a face of disgust, unable to believe what she was hearing. He made it sound like she was some kind of _project_!

"By this point, you've left me no other choice," he continued.

Toph's hands few off of the bars and she awkwardly attempted to storm away from him. Having to feel her way along the wall to locate the corner slightly ruined the effect, but she turned around and sat, refusing to speak to him. She knew it must appear childish, but this was getting _beyond_ ridiculous! She was seething with anger…if she was able to bend, she could've crushed him.

She sensed Teo's hand hover awkwardly above her shoulder for a second before pulling away.

"You are going to stay in here until you begin to see things my way," Lao said. She heard the door to the room outside shut.

"I can't believe him…" she muttered angrily.

She heard the creak of Teo's chair as he wheeled closer. "So, how are we gonna get out of this one?" he joked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She shrugged it off and glared in his direction. "Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to escape," said Teo optimistically. "We always do."

Toph sneered again in the direction of his voice. "How?" she bit, her mood not showing any sign of brightening. "I can't bend! Unless you managed to swipe a key, we're stuck."

Teo was quiet for a minute. "Well, he said that we couldn't leave until you see things his way, which probably means he wants you to be more like Sadako…Maybe you could pretend to do what he wants, so he'll let us out," he offered.

Toph scowled deeper. "No…there is no way I'm going out of _my _way to please _him_. I'm sick of that senile old loon trying to run my life!" she yelled.

Apparently stunned by how quickly she reacted, Teo remained silent. The only sounds in the cell were that of the harp playing softly behind the bars, and their own breathing; Teo's barely detectable, her own ragged. She continued to simmer in the corner, becoming more enraged with Lao as the minutes ticked on. Well, they could have been minutes. Or hours. She couldn't tell, and to say the least, she couldn't care.

After quite some time, she could hear Teo's breath deepen and slow down; he must have fallen asleep. Her eyes began to droop as she sat, yet despite her tired eyes, her mind and body were less than drowsy. But the adrenaline from her anger was quickly fleeting, and she began to grow weary.

She focused on the chiming harp, not wanting to succumb to sleep. The melody, she noticed, differentiated with what it was being used for. The pattern that had immobilized her had been quicker, more of a staccato, and with higher notes; the one playing now contained slower, smoother tones of lower pitch, and was being used to clock out her ability to bend.

Toph glowered yet again at its purpose. Because of that music, she was disconnected from the earth, as blind and as powerless as she could possibly be, and she hated it. She remembered back when she'd used their old harp to restrain the agents a year ago, totally destroying the instrument in the process, and wished that she could do so again. She couldn't stand the feeling of helplessness that the separation from her element brought it; it angered her even more to think that a simple string being plucked could humble her power.

The music of a harp was supposed to be calming, elegant. Toph was quickly learning to loathe it.

Her mind drifted to how she could get away from the wretched tune, and away from the cell. Immediately she thought of Teo's suggestion earlier, and some of her anger gravitated towards the boy most likely sleeping beside her; she couldn't believe that he could even come up with such a vile idea. Sure, there was logic behind it, and almost every other girl in their situation would at least give it a shot, but that was the thing. She _wasn't_ other girls; he or all people should know that. And add in what happened last time she complied with her father, whether it be willingly or not, she'd ended up cut off from the rest of the world. There was no way that she was going to give that nasty old man the satisfaction of thinking that he'd broken her. She wasn't a "daddy's girl", and there was no way in Hell she was going to pretend to be.

She rested her forehead on her knees, which were curled up in front of her and wrapped her arms tighter as she began to register the chill of the cell. A quiet yawn escaped her mouth, and she realized that she was exhausted. Toph decided that, for now, their best chance was to hope that the gaang noticed that they were missing, and came looking for them; although, if it were anything like the last time, that wasn't likely, and with it being so close to the wedding, everyone's minds would be elsewhere.

She could always try coming up with a plan in the morning, she thought as she felt herself begin to grown limp, giving into her need to sleep. It had been a long day, and she needed the rest.

She was nearly asleep when she felt a calloused hand rest on her shoulder, for a moment putting her on alert, making her tense up and cause the fading pain in her head to spike again.

"Hey," Teo said quietly. She lifted her head up, and turned to face him, shooting him a 'what do you want' glare.

"Er…sorry about earlier."

His hand left her shoulder and moved to her face, his thumb gently rubbing her cheek. Unintentionally, she leaned her face into his hand, closing her eyes. Damn it, she scolded herself, she was supposed to be mad at him.

"The last thing we need is to be fighting right now. We have enough to worry about," Teo said, and Toph realized that he was right.

She nodded silently and slowly wincing when his hand brushed against the bump on her head, causing it to pound again.

Teo kissed her cheek and removed his hand. "Get some rest. We have a long time ahead of us."

She nodded again and let herself slide into a lying position on the floor, her head resting gingerly on her outstretched arm, somehow totally calmed down. She scolded herself again, not sure how Teo could always tell what she was thinking, and why he always managed to lighten her mood. She knew that she was in love, but she just wished that the universe would stop using it against her; it was getting _very _inconvenient.

Hearing how ridiculous that sounded, she shook her head and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, Teo's presence evident beside her.

**Aaand it's up! **

**How _will_ they get out of this one?**

**Has Toph gone totally insane? **

** Has_ Lao_ gone completely insane? **

**Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

For four days following the first of their capture, Lao returned to the cell room. Each time he would attempt to 'reason' with Toph, and each time the outcome was the same; she would move to the corner, her back turned against him, and refuse to speak.

The meals that they were fed weren't necessarily the slop that Toph assumed was served at most real prisons, but the food was meager at best compared to the extravagant meals that she knew the estate kitchen chef was capable of producing. If it were up to her, she wouldn't have eaten any of it; not out of being spoiled, but simply to spite Lao. She didn't want to accept the handout, and she was getting sick of being treated like a prisoner, sick of that cell, sick of the harp, sick of Lao, sick of everything. She was pretty sure that if they hadn't made up, she'd be sick of Teo, too, with his cheerfulness and constant attempts to pierce through the hull of her disgust at the situation.

Judging by the number of times Lao had arrived, and by the distance between his visits, today was the fifth day being stuck there. As she suspected, the gaang hadn't shown up to 'rescue' them yet, so the two simply spent their days unsuccessfully trying to deduce a means of escape.

Shortly after they had eaten their lunch- Toph embarrassingly allowed Teo to help her with meals, because she wasn't quite used to eating without any sense of where her plate was- and when their trays had been removed by the guards, the telltale creak of the door told her that Lao had returned yet again, and without a second thought she went straight to her corner, making sure he got the picture that she wasn't interested in what he had to say.

"Toph," he said quietly. His voice always started out soft and calm, holding the artificial air of a loving and concerned parent, but it never lasted long. He would forget about the act as soon as he began to get frustrated with her resistance to his negotiation methods.

"Toph, this is getting ridiculous. Please, you have to at least acknowledge me," he said.

"I don't have to do anything…" Toph grumbled under her breath.

Lao sighed and continued. "Your mother and I are simply concerned for your future. With your behavior, how do you expect me to find a decent man to take care of you when I'm gone? Unless you begin acting as a proper noble girl should, you'll never get married off."

That was the final straw. Aborting her determination to ignore him, Toph jumped up and, not very gracefully , stormed over to the bars of the cell, bumping into them slightly, and exploded.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me, and I certainly _don't_ want to get married off!" she screamed, pointing a shaking finger in Lao's direction. "Especially not to that political moron you've got picked out!"

Lao sighed again. "I'm afraid that the Chaw-Hsu boy grew tired of waiting for your return, and decided instead on a young girl named Meng from his own village."

Toph smirked. "I bet you were ticked," she said mockingly.

"I would appreciate you taking this more seriously." Lao said, his voice sharper.

"And I would appreciate being let out of this thing," she cried, sarcastically gesturing to the cell around her. "Or at least getting rid of that crappy music."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! You're constantly running your mouth at the slightest displeasure; you need to learn to hold your tongue, " Lao snapped.

Toph spat, hoping that it landed somewhere near his feet. "Make me," she dared. "I'll say whatever I want."

Lao grunted. "I don't know where you picked up this rebellious behavior from, but it needs to stop immediately. You need to act like a proper young girl."

Toph glared. "I'm an adult!" she shouted.

Lao was silent for a second before speaking up yet again, a scarcely detectable change in his tone. "All the more reason for you to learn how to behave."

Something snapped in Toph's brain. "You know what I think is funny?" she laughed, "You've been constantly telling me to see things your way, but not once have you asked to see it mine!"

"Toph, that's en-"

"No! Don't you see how sick you are? I'm locked in a cage! Your own daughter, locked up like some kind of animal!" she shouted hysterically. "And for what! Not being what you want! You're not going to change it, no matter what you try. Not wanting to accept an arranged marriage! In case it hasn't occurred to you, I have a _boyfriend_! For-"

"What?" Lao asked incredulously. "But… who…"

Toph rolled her eyes and gestured sharply to where she last knew Teo to be sitting. He hadn't said a word the entire time.

Lao chuckled. "You must be joking. The Quey-Rin boy? He's nothing more than a servant; a simple peasant!"

Toph grunted, another burst of anger fueling her rant. "You're a ridiculous old kook!"

"I am your father, and you are to address me as such," he said sternly.

Toph laughed again. "No you aren't! I might be related to you, but that's where it ends. You don't accept _me _as you daughter; why should I do the same?" She felt herself starting to grow hot, and her eyes began to sting. "Not once have you ever done anything a 'father' would do. You've never been proud of me, or even _acknowledged_ any of my achievements- for Spirits' sakes, I've beaten the best earthbenders in the world on several accounts; I've helped win a war! And none of it even matters to you!" She grit her teeth and stubbornly swiped at a tear with her arm. "I wouldn't doubt it if you've never even loved me! The only thing reason you don't just get rid of me or let me leave is because you need an heir to your fucking fortune. Even then, what do you do? You try to force me to turn into the daughter you _actually_ wanted; someone I'm not."

She felt Teo's hand rest on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes for a second, trying to let it relax her. But another wave of anger surged through her, and she shrugged it off.

"Well, you know what? You might as well just give up, because I'm sick of it; I'm not doing anything just to please _you_!"

She turned around, wiping her eyes disgustedly as she sat in the corner. She heard the door slam shut outside, and she curled her knees up to her chest, brushing away yet another tear.

"Toph…" Teo started quietly. She shook her head.

"I'm done with him," she grumbled. "I don't care if we're stuck here forever; I'm done with him. If he thinks I'm gonna be what he wants, then he can kiss my –"

She felt Teo come up behind her and take her hair out of it's band, re-twisting it so that the stray hairs that had dislodged themselves during her fit rejoined the rest. She quieted and closed her eyes, not wanting to admit how good it felt to have someone take care of her. He gently worked the knots out of her hair, and she turned around, a miniscule smile tugging at her lips.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He replaced the band in her hair.

"Getting settled," he stated. "If we're going to be here forever, you might as well be comfortable."

Toph smirked slightly, laughing to herself, her mood starting to lift. "I was being sarcastic; I still want to get out of here," she said with a slight pout.

She suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her upwards; she pushed against them with her hands. "Let me down," she grunted.

Teo chuckled and pulled her fully onto his lap. "Not until you cheer up," he said, hugging her close enough to be able to feel his heartbeat without vibrations.

Still squirming, she cracked a smile. "Alright, I give!" she laughed, settling down.

He kissed her cheek, which had dried, and she felt him grin into it. "That's better," he said softly.

Toph turned around and returned the kiss. "Hey Teo?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"The next time he shows up, could you…" she bit her lip, trying to think of how to word it, "make sure I don't blow my top?"

Teo laughed. "I don't think that's possible," he joked.

She glared at him playfully. He laughed again. "It's part of who you are!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Spirits, you are so _cheesy_ sometimes."

"Do you have a problem with it?" Teo asked.

Toph grinned and shook her head; it even surprised her how little she minded it by now. "Not really," she admitted, and he hugged her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder, and thought that maybe, if she could stay just like this- just the two of them, no one to tell them what they could or couldn't do, no one to tell them who they could or couldn't be, just how it was right that moment- she could be content with being stuck here forever.

**Merry early Christmas everyone!**

**Sorry for my posts becoming more infrequent again; just having a bit of writers block and being busy with my first ever attempt at a real social life (somewhat...)  
><strong>

**This story kind of makes me worried with getting OOC...what do you think? Too much sappiness for Toph to be capable of tolerating? Too much drama?**

**Review please! **

**(Also; any predictions yet?)  
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	6. Chapter 6

On the sixth day of their imprisonment, Toph waited anxiously for Lao after she had finished lunch. She was afraid of what she might do if he tried to "discuss" things further; it already terrified her that she'd actually begun to cry the day before. She listened to the hart plucking away outside the cell, and thought that Lao was actually lucky that it was there; if she turned the direction of anger if she lost it again, she could easily try to kill him.

It hadn't occurred to her until she'd snapped the day before just how much Lao'd hurt her over the last few years. She hadn't thought much of it, but when she saw what real fathers were like, she would push him to the back of her mind to keep it from letting it upset her. Yesterday all of that must have just reemerged, and she broke down; and she didn't want it to happen again.

Maybe, she thought, it wouldn't. It was possible that in snapping, she'd managed to let it all out, so to speak. Maybe she'd done what needed to be done and gotten it over with; she could be good as new for Lao's next visit, ready to stand her ground once again. Squaring her jaw, she prepared herself for the confrontation.

But, it never came. Toph sat in blank determination, Teo's presence patiently quiet beside her in the cell, for Spirits know how long. She couldn't help but listen mindlessly to the harp to judge the time; hours seemed to have passed, absorbed by the endless tune. But the melody was the only noise; no telltale creak of the door announced Lao's arrival, no voices prodding her to comply with a vile demand.

After an eternity had passed, and it had become clear that Lao would not be gracing them with his presence, Toph slammed her fist on the ground and grit her teeth. "Damn it!" she muttered. Despite her angst, as she waited, she had found herself actually anticipating another meeting; she didn't know why – perhaps she wanted to hear his side of the story, or just see how he'd react to her today – but she was angered by h is cowardice. The man came demanding her to bend to his will, and the second things didn't go his way, he fled, like a pouting child.

Across the room, Teo cleared his throat. "Um, Toph?" he asked quietly.

Toph turned her head towards the direction of his voice to show she was listening, slightly suspicious at his nervous tone.

"Um, well, I was doing some thinking," he continued. "Master Bei - I mean Lao – didn't come back today."

Toph quirked an eyebrow. "Really, Shorty? What gave it away," she asked sarcastically.

"No no no, what I'm trying to say is that maybe there's a reason he didn't come." Toph straightened and tuned in more carefully, interested by this comment. "Maybe…when you went off on him yesterday… you actually got to him. Maybe, with your reaction, and with all of the things you said, you hit him; struck him way down deep, and he's thinking right now about everything he's doing, and trying to salvage whatever parental humanity he has left, thinking about releasing us."

Toph thought about this for a second before snorting. "Ha! Yeah right, 'Daddy's probably just pouting that he didn't get his way; he'll be back, trust me."

Teo sighed. "That's another possibility. If that's the case, then maybe when he returns…" his voice trailed off, causing Toph to shoot another look at him.

"What about when he returns?" she asked accusingly.

Teo chuckled nervously. "Well, uh, hehe, you see... I was thinking that, when he returns, maybe, uh, you should… stay quiet and let me talk to him?"

Toph's jaw dropped. "What?" she partially shrieked. Had he just insinuated for her to shut up?

"I-I… what I mean is, the last time you talked to him, you sort of… snapped, and scared him away. If that keeps happening, at this rate we'll never get out of here. But maybe if I try talking to him, I could negotiate something with him… So well, yeah…"

Toph thought about this, softening her glare. She had to admit, it was the most practical thing to do; coming up with good ideas seemed to be Teo's specialty.

She smirked. "So, is this why you've been so quiet all day?"

Teo chuckled. "Pretty much," he said. His tone held unfinished, but he must have decided whatever else he was going to say was unimportant.

Toph yawned and felt herself shiver slightly, goose bumps sprouting on her bare arms; night must have been setting in. Absentmindedly she moved to make an earth tent to trap in some heat, but grew frustrated when nothing happened.

"Grah," she grunted. "I _hate _not being able to earthbend!"

"Come here," Teo called. She followed the sound of his voice, and her wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap, and warming her up. "It'll be fine," Teo said sympathetically. "You might not remember it, but you lost your earthbending ability before."

Toph gave an exasperated sigh. "I know, back when I thought I was that useless priss, Sadako," she stated boredly. She rubbed her hand over her forehead, locating a few stray hairs itching her face and tucking them behind her ear.

Teo chuckled. "You know, there's actually a funny story about that," he said. He seemed hesitant to tell the tale himself, so she leaned her head up and shot him another inquiring look, urging him to go on.

"Well," he continued, " I didn't actually tell you this before, but back when you were Sadako and I was working as a guard – wait, wait, you already know why I was there, never mind that – well, before I knew that you were the same person, one time I zoned out and thought she was you – er, obviously I found out that she actually was, but anyways I kinda sorta might have… kissed her, er, you."

Toph thought about his for a moment before laughing. "Ha, how did 'Sadako' react to this?"

Teo was quiet for a second. " Actually," he said, "surprisingly not unlike you would've…"

Toph grinned. "So, did she punch you?" she teased.

"No," Teo laughed. "Not even you would do that."

Toph raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh really now," she said sarcastically.

"Really," Teo said, kissing her cheek. Toph grinned slyly and turned partially, playfully bumping her fist against his arm.

"Hey!" he cried, pretending to be in pain. She felt him shift, rubbing his arm, and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, suck it up, Shorty," she grinned, "you're acting like a drama queen. Keep it up and I might just hafta dump you," she teased.

"Oh, no you won't," Teo declared, hugging her closer. He buried his face in her cheek. "Like it or not, you might be stuck with me for a long time." He pulled his face away from her ear and kissed the top of her head.

Toph smiled softly. "Yeah, well the same goes for you," she joked. She felt his torso bounce up and down as he laughed quietly; she rest her head on his chest and curled her legs up further onto the chair.

"It would be a pleasure," he said more quietly this time, but she could hear the words echo through his ribcage. She smiled weakly, the rhythmic sound of his breathing slowly lulling her almost to sleep. By the distancing expansions of his chest, causing her to gently rise and fall, she could tell that he, too, was beginning to doze off.

She brought a hand up to join her face, and snuggled herself into a more comfortable position. "I love you,' she said softly.

There was a slight quiet hesitation before Teo curled an arm around her shoulders, holding her securely. "I love you too."

Toph smiled and closed her eyes. Still listening to his breathing, she could barely notice the harp anymore. This somehow giving her an odd comfort, it wasn't long before she fell asleep.

**I'm back! Sorry for the blank period, kind of had a lot of drama and confusion over the last few weeks, not to mention finals last week, and couldn't write. **

**This chapter's a tad short, sorry. Also sorry for the fluffy ending; was kind of in the mood for fluff lately ;) **

**(Thanks to Adlada for helping me fix a few minor spelling errors)  
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**Hm, have I been getting too OOC lately?**

**New policy: Reviews = faster updates! They inspire me to actually get off my rear end and write :)**

**So... Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

The next thing Toph knew was that there was a pair of calloused hands softly shaking her. She kept her eyes shut, pretending to still be asleep. Her "bed" shifted, and as the hands flipped her onto her side, she tried her best to remain limp, in hopes they would give up and leave her be. One of the hands brushed the hair off of her face, and she struggled not to flinch her nose.

"Toph," the person said gently, "you have to get up."

Toph pointlessly squeezed her eyes tighter and groaned. "Teo," she complained groggily, "I'm sleeping."

Teo chuckled. "I know, but lunch is already here."

Toph relaxed her eyelids, but kept them closed. "Then feed me," she joked.

Teo's hands went to her arms and he hefted her up, dragging her into a more upright position. "Alright," he played along. Toph opened her mouth, only to be bombarded by a piece of stale, cold bread being shoved into her face, scraping the edges around her mouth.

"Hey," she complained, "I thought you said that they just brought it."

Teo chuckled. "Yeah, well, you shoulda gotten up sooner then."

Toph scrunched her nose and swatted at his arm.  
>"What was that for?" he asked. She stuck out her tongue.<p>

"I'll get up whenever the heck I wanna get up, got it?" She smirked and lay her head back, pretending to go back to sleep in defiance. She could feel Teo let out an exasperated sigh, and she smirked again, suppressing a laugh. He was actually allowing her to do it.

Growing quickly bored with the quiet, and seeing that Teo had eventually given up, and seemed almost nodding off himself, Toph decided to jump up and rotate herself to face him in one swift movement.

"Bleh!" She yelled, satisfied at the split second of him tensing. Toph laughed. "Gotcha," she teased.

Her face was close enough to feel Teo's hair brush her forehead as he shook his head. "Did not," he laughed.

Toph quirked an eyebrow. "You wanna bet?"

She felt him tense again, and tried to jump away to freedom, but to no avail. She let out an appallingly girlish squeal as Teo's arms wrapped back around her and held her back down. He laughed.

"Don't make me resort to using this to keep you here," he joked, curling his hand lightly around her hair.

Toph's eyes widened. "You wouldn't," she threatened. He chuckled and tugged slightly. Toph put a hand over her mouth as she squealed embarrassingly again.

She shook her head. "Oh, no you don't!" she dared. Her left hand located his right wrist as the other reached back to seize the one holding her hair captive. Giggling slightly as he struggled, she pinned his hands up to the back of his chair, holding them just above the back of his head.

"Alright, you win," Teo laughed. He continued to struggle for freedom, making Toph laugh even harder.

Amidst their game, they did not hear the creak of the door until it suddenly slammed, making Toph jump. Both of their heads instinctively whipped toward the startling noise, and Toph jumped up defensively.

"Who's-" Teo's hand grabbed her wrist, silencing her dare, before releasing again."

"Good afternoon, Sir," he said calmly.

Toph heard quiet footsteps approaching the cell.

"Have you cooled your temper yet?" Lao's voice was like knives to her ears; the question was undoubtedly directed at her alone.

She was about to open her mouth to bite back, when Teo grabbed her hand again, this time pulling her down to his level. "Toph," he whispered, "we already talked about this. Let me handle it."

She sighed. "Fine," she said.

She stood back to full height and crossed her arms, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from bursting out.

"Master Bei Fong." Teo began again, "Lao, sir, I think we should try to remain calm."

"What exactly are you insinuating, boy?" Lao's voice bit back.

"What I mean, sir, is that you shouldn't get so agitated by your daughter being upset."

"What makes you think that you have any right to speak to me about my own daughter? Insolent boy," Lao spat.

Toph grumbled. "More of a right than you…" she muttered under her breath.

"I'm only trying to inform you about what's going on," Teo said calmly. "Look around; you have her locked in a prison cell; do you know how much of a malfeasance it would be if the press found this out?"

Lao grunted. "I've explained this before. I no longer have any other options. Her refusal to practice any form of noble obedience is getting out of hand."

"And the music," Teo sighed, "I know that you're aware that it blocks her ability to bend."  
>"That's it's entire purpose."<p>

"But aren't you aware that by blocking her ability to bend, you're also taking away her ability to see?" Teo asked.

Lao chortled. "That's preposterous; she's been blind since birth."

"Not entirely; she uses earthbending to see. How do you think she's managed to not only get around, but elude every one of your bounts until now? She could feel them coming.

"Now that you've blocked her bending, she is truly blind; there's no need to go to such extremities," Teo explained.

It was so weird actually hearing it out loud… of course, Toph knew all of this beforehand, but hearing somebody else explain it just felt…eerie? She couldn't really describe it.

She could hear Lao chortle dryly. "How am I to know that, when repossessed with her bending, she would not simply attack my guards and escape?"

"Because you have my word," Teo grabbed her hand again, this time just squeezing it, "and I'm sure you have hers as well. Right?" he asked her.

Toph sighed boredly. "Yeah, whatever. I promise that if you cut the crap,-" Teo squeezed her hand tighter, warningly. "- I mean, 'plead my case', I won't try to take off, or attack your precious little guardsmen." She rolled her eyes, feeling rehearsed.

She heard Lao sigh. "Well, alright… I suppose that, at the very lease, I can cease the harpist."

There was the snap of fingers, and instantly the tune stopped, the newly found silence disturbing the room. At once, vague images began to slowly sprout from the ground, growing upward as Toph's senses heightened. She stomped her left foot, sending a ripple of vibrations across the room to quicken the return. She felt like falling to the ground and making rock angels, but her stubbornness got the better of her, and she hid her excitement with a low grunt.

Teo wheeled closer to the bars of the cell. "See?" he asked, gesturing to Toph, who had crossed her arms. "Nothing. Now maybe we can try to start working things out?"

Lao shifted his weight. "Things will be 'worked out' when Toph begins to take what I say into effect."

"That aint happening! And as long as I'm in this cage, I don't have to do a word you say!" Toph blurted.

Lao pursed his lips and shifted his weight nervously back towards the harpist. Toph narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare…"

Teo sighed, clumping his hair in one hand. "Listen, maybe if we all just try to maintain a calm approach to the situation… Toph, will you agree to listen if you're let out of the cell? And Lao, if Toph at least puts things in perspective, can you remain rational?"

Lao sneered. "You talk as if that would be a possibility."

Teo ran his hand through his hair again before opening his arms in front of him, exasperated. "Listen, sir, I'm only trying to help. Obviously your plans are ineffective, and some form of solution needs to be reached, soon; this is getting ridiculous."

Toph rolled her eyed; ridiculous was an understatement.

It was quiet for a moment, and Lao stiffened. "If I agree to your terms, how am I to be sure I won't be double crossed? You and my daughter could easily just take off the second I open this door," he said.

Teo raised his hand. "You have my word," he declared again.

Lao's lips pursed and his pulse quickened slightly. Teo started rigidly at him, and even Toph gained interest in his silence.

He sighed and flicked his wrist. The door to the room opened, and in came 3 guards; two made their way to either side of the cell door, while one just stood in front. Lao had stepped to the side of the small room upon their entrance.

The guards by the door hefted the heave bars up, removing the door and leaning it against the wall.

Slowly and cautiously, Toph uncrossed her arms and stepped out of the cell, wondering if it was a trap. Teo followed in suit, and the guards surrounded them.

"Very well," said Lao. "If this is the only way to get you to cooperate, then so be it. Follow me to my office."

**I know, I know; a bit crappy, and a lot late. I've been having some issues with my depression and haven't been able to write, and then was busy with my boyfriend and just didn't have the time. **

**I promise that chapter 8 will come a LOT sooner, be a lot longer, and hopefully be a lot better.**

**Hopefully the cliffy wasn't too bad for some of you, just couldn't figure out how to end the scene.**


	8. Chapter 8

Toph's jaw twitched in irritation as she and Teo followed Lao down a narrow hallway, guards on either side and behind them to make sure they didn't attempt to flee. As if their suffocatingly close presence wasn't enough to irritate her, the guard behind her was literally breathing down her neck, and it was trying her nerves.

After about 10 minutes of the trek – or it could have been 5; any time with Sir Pantsalot back there felt like hours – it seemed as if this hall was going on forever. Agitated, she stomped to get a better picture of where they were going.

The guards tensed and all turned at her in ready positions. She rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, relax, I'm just trying to figure out where you're really taking us," she mocked. Truthfully, Lao's office was located about 20 feet down the hall from the nearest turn. But she wanted to play with these guys a bit; keep them on edge.

The guards turned back to their original positions, but Toph could feel the heavy breather panting even harder on her neck. It was hilarious to see how nervous she made the grown men, but seriously, she would give anything to turn around and tell him to knock it the heck off.

"Hey," Teo pointlessly whispered from where he was creaking along beside her, " how much farther?"  
>"Not far," she said. "The main hall is just around the corner."<p>

As she said this, the group turned the corner, and she could feel the guards gape at her in awe. She wanted to laugh at their shock.

Soon they'd reached their destination: the Bei Fongs' main office. When they entered, Lao walked to the back of the large, nearly empty room and sat down at his desk.

"Have a seat," he ordered, flicking his wrist to a few chairs in front of the desk. The guards shut the door but remained outside, at the ready the by the exit to prevent the pair from 'escaping'.

Teo wheeled his way to the middle of the room, closer to the desk, but Toph remained where she stood.

"Ahem," Lao cleared his throat. "I said," he repeated, "have a seat."

Reluctantly, Toph walked forward and stood beside Teo, but refused to go further. She was grateful to be out of that cell, finally, but she wasn't thrilled by the idea of sitting in the same room with Lao for hours while he shouted blatantly stupid demands that she was just going to ignore anyways.

She shifted her weight. Crossing her arms, she quirked an eyebrow, daring Lao to make her move further.

Lao sighed. "Very well…" he uttered reluctantly. "Let us begin."

Without hesitation, Toph, trying to sound calm – keyword, trying – blurted out "Why the heck are you so nuts?"

Teo sighed and shook his head in predetermined defeat, not even bothering to attempt holding her back.

A muscle twitched in Lao's jaw. "Excuse me?" He questioned.

Toph grit her teeth. "Why is all of this so important to you?" She demanded.

"Why is what so important to me?"

Toph dug her nails into her bicep. He had to be kidding… all he was doing was infuriating her more by pretending that he didn't know exactly why she was pissed. The man was definitely a raving lunatic.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me," she threatened. "Your desperation for a 'perfect' daughter has made you officially a heartless jerk!"

Lao simply blinked. "I am not desperate for any-"

"Yes you are!" Toph shouted, pointing a finger at him. "And you always have been! My entire life you've done nothing but force me into being this perfect little…priss!"

He folded his hands calmly in his lap, but she could tell by his breathing patterns that he was getting nervous. "I have done no such thing," he explained. "I have merely taught you how to behave in a proper societal matter."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever. That's only a part of what you've done."

"Everything I have ever done was simply for your safety and wellbeing."

Toph clenched her fist. "I know that you're lying!" She yelled. "Don't even try to pull that 'for my own safety' crap with me. If you would just give up your little obsession for one second and saw _me_, you would see that my safety isn't an issue."

Lao opened his mouth, but it was cut off by Teo, who had pulled Toph down to his level.

"Toph, try to settle down," he muttered, exasperated. "Just let him talk. I know you don't want to listen to him, but if you keep arguing, we won't get anything accomplished, and just be stuck here longer."

He turned to talk with both of them at once, and Toph returned to height. "How about we just have everyone just say what they're upset about, and try to work something out," Teo suggested.

"That sounds appropriate," Lao said.

Teo smiled. "Good. Master Bei Fong, you start."

"Why don't we start with the fact that because of his 'protecting me', I just spent the last week in a prison cell!" Toph shouted.

Lao stood and slammed his palms down onto the desk. "Why don't we start with your temper!" He snapped. Although she was still seething, it gave unspoken pleasure to know that she'd gotten Mister 'High Society' to lose his cool like a child.

Before she could let another quip fly back at him, Teo had expertly wheeled himself between the two, skidding to a sideways stop with his hands outstretched in either direction.

"That's enough." He asseverated. "Obviously, the imprisonment is only the carapace of the problem at hand; there's way too much hostility between you two!" He took a breath, shifting his gaze between them. "You are father and daughter! This kind of hatred is not healthy. Unless you two will just be civilized enough to have an adult conversation and work something out, you're going to make yourselves miserable forever. "

Teo glared from Toph to Lao again. His outburst partially shocked Toph; not just because of his quieter nature, but because it was true.

"Fine…" she grumbled.

Lao seated himself once again. "I'm surprised somebody is able to talk some agreement into her, but glad nonetheless," he stated. Toph had to bite her tongue.

"Alright," Teo began again. "Lao, you can speak first.

Toph tensed, but begrudgingly resisted the urge to protest and focused on Lao, who gathered his breath.

* * *

><p>"Ever since Toph was a little girl, I've worried endlessly about her. Her mother and I were almost certain that we were unable to have children, and when she was born, although blind, it seemed as though by miracle." Toph rolled her eyes, but was surprised to find he w telling the truth. "Unfortunately, because of her disability, we've always had to take extra precautions to keep her safe. Underneath it's polished surface, the world of politics is a very turpitudous and insatiable place; men will do whatever it takes to claw their way past one another. A helpless little girl would be a pristine candidate for being kidnapped and held for ransom. In attempts to keep this from happening, I've had guards by her side at every moment, and even decided to keep her existence hidden from the world.<p>

"Then, when she was about five, a pebble flew at her mother while she stomped her feet around in a tantrum. "He chuckled. "Poppy still complains about her favorite teacup being shattered," he said with an uncharacteristic grin. Lao shook his head. He quickly regained his stone composure. "That day, I didn't know what to do. She was an earthbender. I t was such an amazing ability with outstanding possibilities. My heart ached knowing that she would never be able to reach a full potential, but I hired Master Yu, the best sifu in Gaoling, to teach her. Unfortunately, without the ability to see the targets, her ability presented a danger to herself and others. So I had Yu keep her at a level consisting of just basic stances, with little progression. I spent five years protecting her from the dangers of the outside world, and I'd never even fathomed that she'd have the ability to harm herself.

"When she was six, one of my worst nightmares became a reality. Shunsui, one of Toph's main guards, came into my office just before noon, informing me that Toph had gone missing. After an unsuccessful sweep of the entire estate grounds, I began to panic, and ordered the guards to search the town. This was a difficult task, however. In order to keep her existence hidden, the guards had to be discreet, and the search took nearly three times as long as it normally would have.

"Finally, at dusk, Naozumi returned with Toph half asleep in his arms. He told me that they'd found her just outside of town, in a cave full of _beasts_. The poor girl must have been frightened out of her wits. Relieved that she was safe, I too her from Naozumi's hold and tucked her into bed. Immediately afterward, I doubled the number of guards patrolling the grounds, to be sure nothing happened again."

Lao sighed. "Unfortunately, my efforts weren't enough. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the next few years, and she began to blossom into a beautiful young lady. Then, one day, the Avatar randomly arrived at our doorstep, and things took a turn for the worse.

"My fears were realized yet again when I stepped into the courtyard for an evening stroll and found a ransom note from a man named Xin Fu. He had the Avatar, and Toph, and was demanding a thousand gold pieces for her safe return. I immediately complied with the terms, already prepared for such a situation, and brought the money to an illegal earthbending stadium. He released her, and I was beside myself to see that she was unharmed. But moments later, when a dozen large, angry men charged in right towards her, I nearly fainted. I could just sit back and watch helplessly as she had to fight them all off herself. The Avatar was useless. Toph denied his assistance not to trouble him, and he listened, leaving her to fend for herself. Though my jaw nearly hit the floor to see that she was able to fight them away.

"When I was finally able to get her safely home, I was overcome by the severity of the night's events; she could have been severely injured, or worse! I doubled the guards yet again, and sent the Avatar, who'd put her in such danger, away from my property. Toph left the den to prepare for bed, refusing to speak to me after hearing about the security increase. I myself was angry with her disobedience, and made no effort to summon her back. I had no idea that would be the last time I'd see her for nearly three years.

"When Shunsui went to check on her in the night, he discovered her missing. After just getting her back from a monster hours beforehand, I was devastated again. This time, I sent her recent kidnapper and Master Yu after her; the two knew her well enough to be able to track her location, and now that she was undoubtedly with the Avatar, they would hopefully be powerful enough together to rescue her from his clutches.

"After about a month without any sign of her, I was informed that a Bei Fong seal had been used multiple times in Ba Sing Se. I was glad to finally at least know her location. After checking her room to find her emergency pass card indeed missing, I sent news to the search team to change course to the great city. They returned weeks later, but unfortunately without my daughter. The two idiots arrived sealed into the very metal compartment that they'd been sent to bring her home with! At first I'd thought that it was the Avatar's doing, but I was astonished to hear that it was Toph herself who could bend metal. Bringing her home had gotten a hundred times more difficult.

Lao paused for a breath and took a sip of his tea. The clink of the dishes sliced through the silence as he put his cup back onto the table before continuing.

"It was another three months before information was received again. This time, a hawk flagged with the Fire Nation insignia arrived at my window, carrying a letter. Upon reading its contents, I fell to my knees. "

He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of parchment, which he handed to Teo.

"Imagine my horror! My little girl, whom I'd spent twelve and a half years keeping out of harm's way no matter what the cost, was off fighting in the war; she could be killed! But by now I knew it was hopeless to go after her; she was Nations away, with no news of her exact whereabouts. I sent a letter back with the hawk, in hopes it would reach her, but it simply returned here.

"Just two weeks later, word spread throughout the Earth Kingdom about a failed invasion of the Fire Nation capitol. There was no knowledge of any children amongst the surviving rebels being held in prison. All I could do was hold her mother as she cried, distraught. I felt completely helpless.

"The news that the war had been won a month later brought little joy, until Qing, one of our kitchen suppliers, brought a newspaper in to me. I took one look at the article, interviewing the heroes of the war, and was overwhelmed to find that Toph was a live; proven by a portrait of her with the Avatar's gang sitting outside of a teashop in Ba Sing Se. I was beyond relieved, and showed Poppy immediately.

"Figuring that now that the war had been won and she was no longer of use, and her rebellious streak over, we waited anxiously for her to return home. But she never did. She was almost killed, and now she could be putting herself in even more danger again, with me having no way of knowing what she was up to other than the occasional word or news segment.

"Although we were both strongly against it, Shunsui convinced Poppy and I not to summon for her, and allow her to grow out of this phase on her own. I begrudgingly accepted, assuring it wouldn't take long, and she'd be home in a few months. But she wouldn't.

"By the end of the second year of her absence, I was mad with worry. With little to no contact with her, I'd never know if Toph could be severely injured, or worse. And now that she was so publicly known, she was at risk. Instead of politicians, razed admirers or vengeful Fire Nation revolters could come after her. I had to find a way to get her home.

"I contacted officials in Ba Sing Se, summoning or her, but each time she refused to come home. I didn't know what to do. As I dug deeper into the social leaders of the city, I discovered a force of men who excelled in the art of maintaining peace, somehow turning even the most stubborn of men into a complying, obedient citizen. It was exactly what I needed. I hired them immediately.

"After meeting with their leader, I was informed that their work revolved around hypnosis and mind control; they would use a lamp to draw the troublemaker into a trance, and then they would plant the new behavioral concepts into their head. This sounded perfect, except for one factor. Toph was blind; any form of optical control would be completely useless. We worked together to meld their visual techniques into audio, devising a complex decibel system, using the chords or a standard harp, that would alter different portions of the brain- let it be for hypnosis, the blocking of chi paths, or even rendering the recipient immobile or unconscious- while the agent at hand would wear earplugs, safe and unaffected. It took almost half a year to design this new form of hypnoses, but it was brilliant.

"With this option, I could even give her a whole new life, transforming her into the young woman she was always meant to be. When I summoned for her again and, miraculously, she came, it was the perfect opportunity to begin. She was taught to stay indoors, respect her guards, and behave, all without using any form of punishment. I gave her a new name, to be sure that word didn't get around that she was the same girl from the capitol. The last thing needed was for both worlds of dangers to combine; it would totally defeat the purpose of bringing her home again. The agents also said that any familiarity that wasn't specified in the hypnosis could trigger her old behavior again, and changing her identity helped with this factor as well.

"I also moved the family to a new estate. This one was made entirely of would, to be sure that she wouldn't earthbend her way out, in the event her behavior should return. Of course, they had to replace her memories, to be sure that she could have a full transformation, and they removed the knowledge that she was a bender as a precaution. But although the brainwashing was effective, it was only temporary. To secure that the effects didn't wear off, the agents returned each night to reprogram the new memories. It was extreme, yes, but finally, Toph was safe.

"Everything seemed to be going well for about a year. She was happy, healthy, and the family was back together. Then, she started taking more notice of the guards. She grew restless, and even as Sadako, I thought she'd try to run away again. I tried to reinstill understanding of the guards, but the resentment was set too deep for even the Dai Li to lock up. That's when I decided to decrease the guards instead, replacing them with one, qualified guard that she could see more as a friend. I sent out forms for applicants, listing the occupation as a servant to mask her existence further. We know what happened next; the Quey-Rin boy – eh hem, Teo – applied, and was hired. He seemed fit for the job, and because of his own disability, the situation was almost perfect. Not to mention, I'd heard his name somewhere before.

"A few months later, I realized why the name had sounded so familiar. When Sadako spoke of a dream, the boy's reaction told me everything I needed to know: it had been a memory. Teo was a familiarity that was slowly undoing all of our careful work.

"It would have been too suspicious to simply get rid o the boy offhand, but I had to do something to get him away from her before he unlocked her rebel years, or discovered who she was." Lao sighed. "Although it pained me greatly, I decided that the best option would be for her to get married. She was coming of legal age soon, so it was an opportunity to eliminate contact from the boy. And though it was one of the reasons I'd kept her hidden for so long, it was standard for the daughters of noble families to be married as soon as they reached age, to form alliances with other families. The solution would eliminate other problems that would arise. I would have insurance that Toph would be taken care of after I was gone, and it would also solve the complication of needing a male heir;, she could still keep her inheritance if it was given to her husband. Eventually, I began to rely on her marriage not just as an escape, but as security for her future.

"As discreetly as possible, I interviewed suitors from all over the Earth Kingdom. I decided that Adesh Chaw-Hsu, a boy from Makapu, seemed like the best candidate. He was a strong young man, about sixteen himself. He was from a respectable family, but wouldn't try to be overpowering. I bean conjugal arrangements, and informed Teo of the circumstances. He was accepting, and continued to work as if nothing had changed, not slacking in his last few days.

"But the second night after I'd told him he would be leaving, I was awoken in the dead of night to be informed that he _did_, with my daughter in tow. I would have had to have been a fool to think that it was kidnapping this time; somehow, unbeknownst to me, he'd unlocked her rebellion, and helped her run away again.

"After her escape there was absolutely no contact; she was totally under my radar. It took me a year of sending agents all throughout the Earth Kingdom to find her again. I'd originally avoided search of Ba Sing Se, figuring that she was wise enough not to return to the same place, but as it turned out, it was exactly where she had gone.

"In her time back in the city, she made knowledge of her identity quite widely known, which eventually led to our finding her. Though my source thought it was only an impersonation; she acted nothing like one from a noble family. In her time away, she had transformed herself into a ruffian. She was beginning to disgrace the Bei Fong name. I could no longer make deals with investors in the area of the city, due to them no longer having professional respect. Even the Chaw-Hsus were repulsed, and pulled back their agreements, nor did any other family want to make any offers for her hand.

"Out of options, I had the cell constructed in the basement to contain her until she agreed to behave. The agents were then sent out to capture her.

"It gave me some home that she was beginning to come around when I was told that she'd been taken from a high end dress shop, but the fight she put up and her behavior upon arrival told me otherwise. My agents also took Teo, who she was surprisingly still traveling with, with the intention of punishment, but my mindset on that has been changed; he appears to be a kind young man. I hope he allows me to stay in such an opinion, since it is a rarity.

"I have yet to know whether or not my last attempt at reaching Toph has been effective, but my suspicions would be that it has not. You should be aware of everything since that point."

Toph blinked, stunned to silence. "Wow…" she eventually uttered out, "You really _are_ as conceited as I thought."

Immediately, Lao stiffened. "Everything has been done with your own protection in mind!" he defended. Shifting her weight, Toph balled her shaking fist in an attempt to keep from lashing out. Lao softened. "You were just a little girl. It's my job to keep you safe."

She shook her head blankly. "When's it gonna occur to you that I'm _not_ a little girl anymore? I'm seventeen; an adult! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and have been for years!" She protested.

Lao sighed. "Toph," he said, his voice barely audible, "you're our only child. If anything happened to you, your mother and I would be devastated."

Toph scoffed. "Really? Because your attempts at restraining me have been about as bad as anything some 'kidnapper' would do, if not worse."

Lao rubbed his forehead. "I suppose I have been a bit extreme. But you must understand, I was only acting with my best parental interest at heart."

"Parental interest?" Toph laughed. "You've been anything _but_ a parent to me my entire life. I was raised by guards and servants. If I had a nightmare when I was little, where were you? It was Shunsui who would come tuck me back in. It was Misante who brought me breakfast, Naozumi who read to me. They were the ones who actually cared about me." She looked down, hiding her face in her wild, scraggly hair.

"My job is very busy, and requires a lot of my attentions. It's not that I don't care about you; I do! It's just that-"

"Just what?" She interjected. "You say that you cared, but you didn't. You were never even proud of me. I've been reigning champion of Earth Rumble for almost a decade straight, I discovered metalbending, and I helped defeat the Firelord and end Sozin's War, and none of that makes a difference to you. But that doesn't matter. I don't rely on your approval, or anyone else's." Toph straightened her shoulders, solidifying her point.

"But I am proud of you," Lao started. "So very proud."

He registered as no lie, but Toph refused to believe it.

She glared. "Don't pretend to be something you're not. You've never once did anything to show it. In fact, you've done the opposite. You were so ashamed of me that you changed every aspect of what makes me… _me_. You took away who I was, and I will never forgive you for that." Toph took a deep breath and faced him. She'd somehow managed to keep her voice from cracking apart.

The room was silent. Nobody moved. Lao looked down at his desk, solemn.

"…I'm sorry…" he said quietly, after what seemed like ages. He didn't look up.

Toph held her chin up. "I'm not looking for an apology," she said coldly.

Teo took a deep breath. During Lao's speech, he'd worked his way back next to Toph. He wheeled back, indirectly between the two again. "Well, now that everything's out in the open," he stated cautiously, "Things can only get better from here."

Lao sighed. "We can only hope…"

Toph rolled her eyes and sat boredly. She did not want to have to say that she forgave him. Luckily, she was saved from the silence when Teo gasped suddenly.

"What day is it?" he asked.

Lao blinked, surprised. "The twentieth, why?"

Teo's head snapped up. "Oh no… Toph, the wedding!"

Toph's eyes popped open again at the realization. "Shit! Katara's gonna kill us!"

"Sir, can she please get going?" Teo asked. "I'll stay and try to finish up, but she really has to go. She can't be late."

Lao scrunched his eyebrows, confused and taken off guard. "Um… what?"

Teo shook his head. "She's a bridesmaid in our friends' wedding. That's why we were in the dress shop last week. She's going to be late if she doesn't leave right now." He explained.

Lao looked at Toph, who was leaning towards the door. "I suppose…" he said, still bewildered by the sudden turn of conversation.

"Thanks dad," she uttered, before bolting out the door.

"So, while I'm here…" she heard Teo saying as she ran down the hall. His voice faded out as she turned the corner.

Toph quickly navigated the house, which was set up similarly to the old estate. Rounding into the entrance hall, she barely had time to thrust open the heavy front doors before launching herself off on earth skates.

It was going to be a long trip to the city, and she had to move fast.

**Whew! THAT took a long time! **

**Hopefully a doubly-long chapter makes up for my lack of updating lately? :)  
><strong>

**Reviews, please! I have chapter 9 written, but I'm only posting it if you do  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Panting and coated in a layer of sweat, Toph finally reached the Woo Vu Wedding Hall- the chosen location for the ceremony. It had taken Toph nearly two hours to get back to Ba Sing Se. Another thirty minutes was spent trying to find the damn hall. It would have been quicker to just continue with her preferred mode of travel, but one inside the city, she had to lose her earth skates and was reduced to running.

She wiped her forehead and gulped in air; Katara had better be pretty frickin' grateful, or she might just wring her neck.

Toph rounded the building and pushed open the back door, nearly staggering into the preparation room. She braced herself for the torture to come.

She was greeted by a frantic Suki, who was buzzing about the dressing room. When she noticed Toph, she gasped and ran over. "Oh my Spirits!" she cried. "Where have you been? Oh, that doesn't matter now. You're a mess!" She gestured at Toph's…well, everything. Suki rubbed her temple. "Come on, you need to get cleaned up."

Still wearing just a robe herself, Suki nearly dragged Toph over to a tub in the corner of the large room. She pulled the water spout and poured in some fancy fragrant soap.

"Hurry, we don't have long," she said as she helped Toph, who was too tired to object, strip down and get into the tub. Toph sank down, letting the hot water soak her tired limbs… that is, until her head was shoved under the water. She fought back up, sputtering, and spit water straight at Suki.

"What the heck was that for?" She demanded.

Suki, who was vigorously scrubbing at Toph scalp, grunted. "There isn't time to relax. I have to get you washed, dressed, and made up within the hour," she said, "so stop struggling!" She yelled as Toph tried to pull her head free.

With an irritated sigh, Toph relaxed and let Suki work on cleansing and detangling her hair, before being assaulted with a coarse sponge, rubbing her arms raw. Before she could even protest, Suki said "Relax; you're caked in dirt. We have to get it all off," she explained.

Toph groaned, but let Suki finish her scrubbing. Soon she was wrapped in a warm, fluffy robe, and sat at the older girl's feet as she towel-dried her hair. Once satisfied that it was void of moisture, Suki styled her hair into a bun, vaguely reminiscent of Toph's old hairstyle, with just one annoying strand of hair hanging down the side of her face. Then Suki had Toph sit on a stool, higher off of the ground, while she rummaged around in the drawer of the vanity table beside therm.

She pulled out a medium sized cloth box, and went to work. Toph sneezed as her nose inhaled a chalky smelling powder. A large brush encompassed her entire face, before being replaced by a slightly smaller one, this one's range being her cheeks. Suki put the brushes away and came back with a thin stick. She used this to stab Toph in the eye multiple times as she squirmed.

"Hey, watch it!" Toph complained. "I'm already blind as it is!"

Suki took her face in her hands, locking her head from turning. "Hold still then."

Resting her hand on Toph's forehead, she traced the outlines of her eyes, and replaced the stick with yet another miniature brush. "Close your eyes," Suki ordered.

Doing as she was told, the brush swiped over her eyelids, before Suki pulled out some sort of metal contraption. Toph's eyes snapped open, glaring at Suki warningly. The girl simply glided Toph's eyes shut again with her free hand, and used the metal thing to pinch her eyelashes.

Toph squeezed her eyes shut tighter. "Ow!" she yelled as it tugged and ripped at the delicate strands. She snatched the thing out of Suki's hand and crumpled it, tossing it to the floor.

Suki groaned. "Really? That was my only eyelash curler..." she complained. She sighed, and grabbed a tiny cylindrical tube from the box. She smeared paste on Toph's lips, and sat back, smiling.

"There," she grinned. "Just one last thing…" She rummaged through the container again. Pulling out a small bottle, she spritzed Toph with a stinky, flowery perfume, ignoring her coughs.

Suki got up and brushed her hands on the robe. "Wait here," she said as she walked to the other side of the room. "Don't touch your face!" she called over her shoulder.

Toph could barely hear murmured conversation, bits and pieces of "…finally…", "…ten more…", and "…almost…", when she became aware that they were not the only ones in the room. She recognized the voice of Ty Lee – a crazy, hyperactive acrobat from the Fire Nation who joined the group after the war – but there were three other girls whom she didn't know. Two of the unknown girls left, entering a connected room where she could hear them talking with Katara.

Ty Lee and the remaining unknown girl mumbled as she heard rustling. The two and Suki giggled, and the unknown girl left to join her friends and Katara in the other room.

Suki and Ty Lee approached Toph. Sliding off of the high stool, she noted that Suki's robe had been replaced. The two of them were wearing identical strapless dresses. With an inward groan, Toph realized that she would soon be matching them. Fantastic.

Ty Lee held out the dress for her to take. "Yeah, yeah…" Toph grumbled. When the other girls tried to assist her in taking off the robe, she smacked Suki's hand. "Hey, I can do it myself, ya know. I'm not three; I know how to put a damn dress on!" she complained.

The two girls shrugged and walked away, watching her. Toph rolled her eyes and turned away from them before dropping the robe and shimmying the dress over her head. Or, partially. She pulled the bottom of the dress down… just before her stomach. It was stuck.

Glad her face was hidden to guise her shock, Toph continued wiggling to try to work the dress farther down, but the material wouldn't budge. Her arms were useless as well. They were pinned up against the sides of her head.

Ty Lee giggled. "Are you sure you don't want any help?"

Toph grunted. "I'm fine," she said. There was no way she was going to ask for help now.

She tried to spread and move her arms in a swimming-type motion in an attempt to work the top of the dress closer to her underarms, but it wouldn't move.

"Damn it! Why. Won't. You. Work!" She yelled to herself as she flailed. When writhing from side to side failed to accomplish anything, Toph added hopping up and down to the mixture, which proved to be disastrous. She cried out as she tumbled to the floor, landing sideways, with her head beneath the vanity table.

She sighed in defeat. "Fine, I give. Can I get some help now?"

Laughing, Suki and Ty Lee ventured over to her. Carefully, they helped her back up to her feet. Ty Lee untied something on the back of the dress, and immediately it became loosened when Toph tugged her arms apart again. The girls positioned themselves on either side of her, and in one quick, downward tug, the dress was where it was supposed to be. Suki positioned Toph's arms out to the sides as Ty Lee went behind her and picked up the two strings hanging in back.

"Hold your breath!" she chirped.

Toph blinked. "What? Why-" she was cut with her answer. Ty Lee pulled the strings, tightening the top of the dress until the air was forced out of Toph's lungs. She had to admit, the girl was strong for someone so noodle-y.

"Can't… breath…" Toph gasped. The pressure loosened slightly, and her lungs refilled with oxygen.

Ty Lee giggled again. "I told you to hold your breath."

Toph rolled her eyes as the girl tied the back of the dress. She put her arms down, and Suki held her bare shoulders straight, examining her. She twirled the strand of hair hanging in Toph's face with a moist finger until it appeared to be a spiral, and seemed satisfied.

"Alright," she said. "Let's go. The wedding's about to start."

* * *

><p>Toph stood in place, listening to the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe – ironically, Katara's father – drone on about the sacredness of marriage and life and getting old and all of that sappy crap. While she had to admit that Aang and Katara, who were exchanging vows, were cute, the wedding cortege was getting bored. Or, at least she was.<p>

Trying to pass the time, she observed some of the crowd in attendance. It was a pretty moderate turn out. Witnesses included Katara's grandmother and grandfather - Hakota was performing the rituals, and Sokka was Aang's best man -, the majority of the Southern Water Tribe, and various people who the gaang had met back during the war, some of whom Toph had met herself, others she had not. Iroh, with whom she was good friends with, sat near the front. The Freedom Fighters – who she hadn't gotten to know fully until after the war, though the rest of the gaang had more history with – were present towards the middle. The Earth King, Kui, sat near the front, and a cocky old earthbender she'd been introduced to as Bumi sat closer to the family section. Haru and Tyro – an earthbending father-son duo who'd helped in the invasion of the Fire Nation – sat near the Freedom Fighters.

She noticed a girl about her own age sitting near the back, clinging to a broad and arrogant young man, with large ears, might she add, for dear life. Toph held back a snicker; why the girl wanted to even be near the man was lost by her. Near the couple was an elderly woman wearing a bazar metal headdress, smirking. Others in the back were Jun – a bounty hunter –, a large number of young people from the Fire Nation, and _lots_ of old people.

A smile slipped across Toph's face at Fakih, who sat in the middle. But it was short lived when the realization that Teo was still not back slipped into her mind. What was taking so long?

She pushed it out of her mind; it was probably just a long flight.

Toph turned her attentions back to the wedding, just in time for one of the final parts of the ceremony.

Hakota raised his hands. "In the presence of the great mother and father, keepers of undying balance, Tui- er, Yue," he looked to his left hand, "and La," he looked to his right, "you are connected eternally as a whole." He motioned at Aang, who was occupied with staring at Katara. He looked up, startled slightly, and pulled a necklace out of his robe. Ever so carefully, he leaned forward tied it around Katara's neck. As he returned, Katara fondled the stone, smiling softly.

Hakota sighed and announced – before turning his head slightly away – "You may now kiss your bride."

Aang took Katara into his arms and kissed her. Toph smirked; it was _not _a peck. Unable to resist, she pumped her fist. "Way to go, Twinkle-Toes!" she yelled.

He pulled away from his love as the crowd laughed, and grinned sheepishly. The music began to play again – a harp, making Toph on edge –, and he and Katara joined hands before walking down the aisle, and out of the hall. Suki and Sokka, the beginning of the procession, followed them, along with Ty Lee, the mystery girls, Zuko, and herself.

Three carriages waited outside, led by elaborately decked-out ostrich horses, to take the wedding party to the reception hall. Iroh had temporarily donated his teashop for the affair, due to its size and facilities.

Aang helped Katara up into the first, newlyweds' carriage, up front. The second was for the Maid of Honor and Best Man, and was quickly filled. The remainder of the party ascended into the third, slightly larger carriage. Meaning, Toph was crammed into an enclosed location with bubbly Ty Lee, easily irritated Zuko, no Teo, who originally had been meant to join them, and three girls whom she had never met. Great.

**Sorry I haven't updated in a bit again. I hope this isn't too bad; finally mustering up the mood to write something. **

**Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter! Review, review, review, and I'll update soon!**

**P.S, What do you guys think of the new cover art for Fun Without Risk and Forget Me Not?  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 10

The ride went surprisingly better than she'd expected. While it took twenty minutes to get from one end of the ring to the other, nobody irritated each other too badly. Ty Lee didn't talk _too_ much about how sweet the ceremony was. Toph conversed with the stranger girls – who she learned were Fumi, Hau, and Isaye, distant cousins of Katara from the Northern Water Tribe -, and deemed them okay. Fumi was a lot like herself, having learned to fight in secret, against her family's ruling. She was a master with weaponry at age 16, and now at 21 she was the only female sifu in the tribe.

Isaye was the oldest of the cousins, 25, and was iffy on Toph's respect scale. She was a bit of a perfectionist, constantly messing with her earrings. Back home, she was married, with a five year old daughter named Fuu. They couldn't make it to the wedding because she didn't want Fuu to miss her classes. Isaye had a strong will, Toph had to admit, but she was too stuck up for her taste. Not to mention Zuko was probably sick of seeing portraits of Fuu.

The youngest was Hau. Only 15, she was still in school, but was allowed a week away for the wedding because she was at the top of her class. Hau was training to become a professional healer. According to Fumi, who was her older sister, she was one of the only benders in the family. Hau demonstrated her healing ability on Toph's ankle, which was still slightly sore from her capture. She was good, but Toph thought that she could do more than doctor others. She was cheery and had a great sense of humor, which kept Toph entertained the majority of the ride.

By the time the carriage pulled up to the Jasmine Dragon, Toph had begun to form small friendships with the Water Tribe girls. Ty Lee walked into the shop with Isaye, still "ooh"ing and "aw"ing over the infinite number of baby pictures stocked in Isaye's purse. Toph chatted with Hau, and as they walked in, Toph noticed that the teashop had been completely rearranged for the reception.

The dozens of tables in the center had been pushed back to one half of the room. One long table, for the wedding party, was set up against the back wall, while the rest of the tables were arranged near it. The entire front of the room was empty, save for a small stage in the corner for a band, which was already present and playing quietly. The counter near the kitchen door had been expanded, to be used as a makeshift bar.

Most of the tables had already been filled by guests, who had apparently received a faster ride than the dimpy carriage they'd taken. The bride and groom were already sitting at the center of the head table, the Maid of Honor and Best Man beside them. The rest of the party filed into their seats.

As Toph sat down, she observed the seating arrangement of the table. Fumi sat on the far end to the right of her, followed by Hau, Isaye, Ty Lee, herself, Suki, and lastly Katara. Continuing onto the groom's side of the table was Aang, Sokka, Zuko, who seemed glad to be away from the compartment of chattering women, Hakota, and an empty seat on the end, where Teo had been meant to sit. Still? Where _was_ he?

Toph shook her head and chatted with Suki. Not long after, the rest of the guests showed up, and the food arrived, no doubt cooked by Iroh himself, as he was just now entering from the back. Her mouth watered when she smelled the decadent cream and seal stew; it felt like forever since she'd had a decent meal, lest Iroh's cooking. She kept her focus off of the dish of sea prunes, and dug into the authentic soup.

The rich, salty-sweet mixture filled her mouth, and her stomach rumbled. She kept spooning the filling nectar into her mouth until the clinking of a glass signaled for her to stop.

She put her spoon down, disappointed, and focused her attention on the other end of the table. Sokka was standing, and shaking slightly, holding a glass.

"Listen up!" He yelled, quieting the crowd. "I would like to make a toast. The toastiest toast, a toast to my baby sister, and my best friend, who's now my brother in law." He looked down at the couple, then leaned towards Aang. "Whatever happened to the bro code of not dating the best friend's little sister?" he pretended to whisper, and the crowd erupted with laughter. Sokka chuckled. "Aw, I'm just kiddin' ya; I'd've probably done the same," he joked. Toph could feel Suki glaring at him from her seat. "Wow, tough crowd. Well anyways, congrats you guys. Ya know, from the second Katara and I found Aang in that iceberg over five years ago, I knew that this day was gonna come eventually. What would most people do first thing after waking up after a hundred years? I don't know about you, but I'd find the closest buffet," he laughed. "But no, not this guy. He opens his eyes, and the first thing he does is ask Katara on a date. No joke. Then for the next year, he couldn't keep his eyes off her! I swear, I would'a popped him a good one if it were anybody else." The crowd chuckled again, and Sokka ate it up. He smiled and nodded energetically. "Yeah! Let me tell ya, it was lucky the kid's a monk, or I would'a had to go all big-brother on him for all that they snuck off together over the years. I mean seriously, what- ow!"

He was cut off by Zuko smacking him on the back of the skull. Sokka rubbed his head. "Yeah, alright, I guess I got a bit carried away. Anyways, congrats you two. And hey," he held his fingers to his eyes and pointed them at Aang, "I'm watching you." With one last laugh, he raised his glass and took a sip of wine. Everyone at the table followed in suit, then the guests below. This went on as almost everyone else up at the table gave their own speeches and toasts to the newlyweds. When it was Toph's turn, she just uttered "To Sugarqueen and Twinkle-Toes. Good luck!", trying to get it over with, and being completely unprepared.

When she was finally able to get back to her food, it was cold, but she finished it anyways. Somehow, it was almost even_ better_ cold; or was that just because her taste buds had become solidly accustomed to the wine?

The evening seemed to drone on. Sokka, by this point, was on his fourth glass of wine, and was still drunkenly rambling embarrassing memories of the couple. By the time it came time to cut the cake, there wasn't a secret left from the guests.

Being chocolate, of course, the cake was delicious, and helped fill the gap in Toph's stomach where the sea prunes would have lay.

Not long after she'd finished her second piece, it was time to dance. The bride and groom had their first dance, then it was the cortege's turn to take the floor. Unfortunately, due to Teo's absence and an uneven number of men versus women, Toph was stuck awkwardly dancing with Fumi for the duration of the processional dancing. She didn't have anything against Fumi, but dancing really wasn't Toph's thing, and she thought that the torture would never end.

She was finally allowed to leave the floor after seven songs. During the father-daughter dance, Toph slipped over to the bar, rolling her eyes.

Iroh smiled at her as she slid onto the stool. "I take it you are not exactly having an excellent time?" he asked warmly.

Toph shook her head, and leaned her forehead on her hands. "You could say that," she said. "Could I get a glass of cactus juice?"

Iroh rummaged around under the counter, pulling out a glass from the shelves below. "You know, that stuff is really not the greatest for your wellbeing," he advised. "Wouldn't you rather me brew you a nice cup of hot Ginseng tea? It will calm your nerves just as well."

Toph exhaled. "I guess… but put a couple of shots in it."

She scootched the stool closer to the empty bar as Iroh handed her the steaming cup. After blowing away some of the moist heat, she took a sip, the scalding liquid soothing her nerves almost immediately.

Iroh left momentarily, tending to a man who had sat down at the other end of the bar, before returning. "Would you care to tell me what is troubling you?"

"It's nothing," Toph shrugged. Without even having to see it, she could feel Iroh's inquiring gaze. Of course; he was the one person who could see through anyone's façade. She sighed. "Alright. I've just had the worst week ever."

"How so?" Iroh innocently asked. Toph snorted.

"Well, for starters, I was kidnapped, spent the week in a jail cell in the basement of my own house, had to deal with my prick of a father who locked me up to begin with, then run a hundred miles only to be stuffed in a dress and told to sit quietly. But you know, that's just another week," she said sarcastically.

Iroh's eyebrows rose. "Oh my… why did your father kidnap you?" he asked, dumbfounded.

She shrugged. "He's still on his 'behavior' or 'obsession' kick, and was desperate for me to change. He keeps playing the 'for my own safety' card," Toph put quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "but I don't believe that bull. He's just delusional." Toph rolled her eyes as she said this, but for some reason the conversation earlier still nagged at the back of her mind.

Iroh paused and thought, stroking his chin. "I know he is outrageous, but have you ever tried seeing things from his point of view?"

Toph shrugged. "Not really. Never saw the need to. Besides, I don't even want to know what goes on in his mind." She grimaced.

"Maybe you should give it a try once. It might help you more than you know." She felt Iroh smile warmly at her before walking off to tend to someone else, leaving just that note of advice. Toph rubbed her temple; some things even Iroh didn't understand. Though even so, she took the advice into consideration for once. Others had told her the same thing, but for some reason it was different hearing it from Iroh. She'd considered him more of a father figure to herself for years, and she usually valued his judgment.

Suddenly, she was pulled from her thoughts by Hau tugging at her arm, giggling.

"Come on," Hau said excitedly. "Katara's about to throw the bouquet!"

She gaped blankly at Hau. "…are you kidding me?" she asked.

The younger girl tilted her head, apparently surprised by Toph's less than enthusiastic response. "Aren't you going to come to the floor? It's part of the fun!" Hau exclaimed.

Toph sighed. "No thanks. That's not really my thing." She explained.

"Alright. Catch up with you later, then," Hau shrugged. She scurried off to join the other unmarried women on the dance floor.

Music played as the women danced in a circle, clapping and laughing, around a blindfolded Katara in the center. Toph laughed at how ridiculous it looked. There they were, making complete fools of themselves, and for what? An old wives' tale? Yeah right. There was no way Toph would ever stoop that low. They could get her in a dress, make her up, and force her to dance, but that was just going too far.

She took a sip of her spiked tea, chuckling. The women marched faster and faster, cheering as Katara prepared to toss her panda lilies. Then the bouquet was gone, somewhere in the air, as women desperately shoved one another out of the way in a bloodthirsty grudge match. That part could be fun, Toph thought, taking another gulp.

Suddenly her drink was knocked to the counter by the thud of something hiding the back of her head.

She whipped around. "Hey, watch it!" She yelled, searching for a culprit. She bent down and picked up a bundle at her feet. Toph held it up to her face and took a sniff: flowers.

Not even a moment after picking the item up, she was swarmed by the girls from the circle.

"Oh my Spirits!" Hau squealed, clutching her arm yet again.

"You're gonna get married!" Ty Lee finished for her.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said, laughing. "I don't believe in that pansy crap."

"But it's true!" Hau exclaimed. "At her friend Misake's wedding, Isaye caught the bouquet, and said the same thing. But then a month later, Devachandra proposed!" She practically suffocated Toph in a hug. "You're so lucky!"

Toph grinned. "Sure," she said sarcastically. She turned to where Katara was still standing. "Yo Sugarqueen, nice aim!' She yelled. "The circle's that-a-way!" She pointed in the opposite direction.

Katara lifted up her blindfold. "Hey," she protested, hands on her hips, "I'm not that bad! You've seen me before. That was just a bad throw."

Toph pretended to find this offensive. "What are you trying to say? That nobody could ever want to marry someone like _me_?"

"No, sorry, I'm not saying that." Katara stuttered. She made her way over. "I just thought that…"

Toph laughed. "I'm just pullin' ya, Princess," she joked. "Now why don't you go find your honey so he can get that garter off ya," she winked.

"Actually," Katara said, sounding slightly flustered, "we're going to do a little mingling activity first. Everyone's going onto the dance floor, and we're all switching partners every couple minutes or so."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Count me out," she said, having already had her fill of dancing.

Katara smirked. "Oh no you don't. Everyone means _everyone._ It'll be fun, I promise."

**Alright, now it's getting a little more boring, I admit. Does this count as a cliffhanger? If so, it's not a very suspenseful one. **

**Review! From now on I'm only updating after a set number of reviews. This number is in my own mind, so you guys'll just have to try to achieve it and find out yourselves.  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**I know, I know**

**Its been way too long since I've uploaded **

**You can murder me whenever you'd like, guys. Haha, I'm sorry**

**Finding myself with a few off days and recently single, I finally had some time to update, so here you go**

The underbeat of the tsungi horn continued to play, switching its rhythm as the band seamlessly changed songs for at least the dozenth time. 'Little' mingling activity, my ass, Toph thought. It had been at least half an hour since it began, switching partners with each new song, and herself unable to escape the mess.

She had had to keep from socking about five - by now drunk and horny - Fire Nation 'schoolchildren', whom she barely remembered as they tried to hit on her, hear Sokka slurredly make even worse jokes than usual, listen to Zuko, who hated the activity as much as herself, complain endlessly, and make small talk with guys from every nation and walk of life. Her legs were beginning to grow sore, and her feet were pounding, from both being stomped on multiple times and trying to read the surroundings of a hundred dancing feet, which was accompanied by a forming headache.

Now partners were switching yet again, and she saw no sign of the cycle breaking. If it weren't for trying to keep her friends happy for once, she would either just leave or drop everyone through the floor. But no, she was being a 'good friend' and going along with the torture. Katara might still be alive for now, she thought, but in a week she would be paying for this severely.

The Ba Sing Se flirtatious boy nodded his head goodbye, still grinning like a goon, and finally left her to find another girl to attempt to pick up. Toph remained where she was, unamused, and praying that maybe there were an odd number of dancers and she would be lucky enough to sit out unnoticed. Unfortunately, a man only a few years her senior approached, hand outstretched chivalrously. "May I have this dance?" he prompted. She recognized him as the arrogant boy from the ceremony audience.

Toph sighed. "Whatever, why not," she halfheartedly accepted, taking the hand and allowing him to lead her.

For a minute, he rambled as he swayed, Toph being too tired and disgusted with the activity to make conversation. After a while, she grew tired of hearing about his life. He was the only son of a nobleman, had some huge trust fund, liked stockmarket crap, obsessed with extravagant things, suit he was wearing was designer, yada yada. Self centered rich snob. How much longer was this song?

He was quiet for a few seconds, then asked the first question not entirely related to his finances. "This might sound kind of odd, but you wouldn't happen to be related to the Bei Fong family, would you?"

Toph snorted. "Yeah, what of it?" she laughed. What kind of question was that? It was certainly strange.

He was quiet for a few seconds, staring at her intently. "…Sadako?" he asked, bewildered.

It was then that she tensed up, shocked. "What…?" she asked, confused. "No, my name's Toph. And you would be..?"

"Oh," he said, sounding slightly disappointed. "My name is Adesh. I apologize. I just thought… you strongly resemble her."

Toph thought for a second, searching for a reply. "Yeah… I get that a lot. She's my cousin," she saved.

"I see. Sorry about the mix up."

"Its fine," Toph brushed off. Awkward quiet re instilled itself between the two, until Toph's confusion and curiosity began to eat away at her. "How exactly do you know m-my cousin?" she inquired.

Adesh chuckled softly. "For a time, we were betrothed."

Toph's eyes widened in realization. "Oh," she choked out in awe. "What happened?" she continued, trying to sound curious and keep up the conversation.

He sighed "Unfortunately she must have had second thoughts on the matter or couldn't make up her mind. Eventually I grew tired of waiting."

"I see," Toph said. "I'm sorry to hear that," she faked sympathy, hiding her abhorrence at the thought of what she could have been stuck with.

He smiled. "Actually, I'm thankful for it. If it weren't for her indecision, I would have never met the love of my life." Adesh nodded his head towards a girl on the other side of the room, wearing a long silk gown and wavy hair nearly down to her rear end. "You see her over there?" Toph nodded. He grinned again. "Her name is Meng; lived right down the street my whole life. Never spoke to her once, and probably never would have. Now we're engaged."

Toph nodded again. If she were anyone else with any other viewpoint, she probably would have found the story sweet. "Congratulations," she formalized.

They continued to dance, and Adesh continued to go on about himself. She tuned into the song, and to her dismay recognized not only the tune but that it was only halfway through. She sighed; this was the epitome of torture.

She couldn't even look around the room to keep herself busy; there were too many people moving too many ways at once, and it messed with the vibrations. So sadly she listened to Adesh drone, and thanked the Spirits that she escaped marrying him.

A minute passed and he jumped suddenly, looking down behind him. "Excuse me," a voice asked, tapping him on the back and making Toph's heart leap. "Mind if I have this dance?"

Adesh shrugged, scoping the floor for another partner already. "Um… sure… go right ahead, sir."

He walked off to reveal a young man sitting behind him, holding out a hand for Toph. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Where the hell have you been?" she asked.

Teo wheeled closer. "Well, that's quite a hello," he said sarcastically.

Toph shook her head in disbelief, ignoring the comment. "How exactly is this going to…?" she questioned.

He laughed. "Like this," he sated, reaching up to grab her hips and pull her sideways onto his lap.

"Well, that's one way," she grinned, trying not to giggle. She put her hands on his shoulders, hugging him to her through his underarms and resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Took you long enough to get here," she joked.

"Hey," he said in defense, "it's a long flight, thank you very much."

She chuckled. "For a minute there, I thought my dumbass dad killed you."

Teo grinned. "Nope. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

He wrapped his arms around her back, and the tension she realized she'd been holding in all night was relieved. With her feet off of the ground, the tension in her head was relieved as well, and even her headache faded.

Teo let go of her to pop a wheely with his chair, spinning in a circle before touching all four wheels back onto the ground. Toph laughed; this was the most fun she'd had all night.

The song ended and people began mixing again, but Teo's arms refound their location around her midsection and held her down. "Oh, no you don't," he said. "You're staying right here for the rest of the night."

She laughed. "No complaints here," she joked, exhausted. She closed her eyes and curled up slightly on his lap, using his neck as a pillow. She felt a smile cross his lips, and he turned his head to kiss her cheek.

"Hey," he said, brushing a hair out of her face that had escaped from its hold. "I know you probably can't stand that dress, but let me just say that you look amazing."

Toph rolled her eyes, suppressing a blush. "Oh, please." She joked. "Save it for someone who buys it, Shorty."

Teo's hand went to the back of her head, cradling it to him. "Whatever you say, darling."

She chortled. Teo's free hand continued to wheel them in circles as the music played, both of them quiet as Toph kept herself from completely clinging to the boy.

When the song ended, it had finally been the last one. The crowd parted their ways for drinks and relaxation as they announced the garter toss.

"You gonna go up?" Toph teased. Teo thought for a second.

"Hm…" he pondered. "Nah, wouldn't have much of a chance," he said. "Not to mention it would be much more fun sitting with you."

Toph sat up and stretched, bracing her hands against his shoulders. In the background she heard the music playing again, and the hoots and cheering begin. Knowing what this meant, she crept her feet to the ground to see what was going on.

An embarrassed Aang was being blindfolded to find his bride's garter. Toph burst in laughter. "Whoo! Yeah! Go Twinkle Toes!" She hollered.

As the event went on, with much difficulty, Katara had buried her face in her hands out of mortification. Toph chuckled; what did she think this was?

Eventually it was found with his teeth and flung into the crowd of testosterone filled lunatics, to be caught by Adesh. Obviously; the guy was already engaged, wasn't he?

Music began playing again and at once she remembered the standard of this game; whatever man catches the garter has to dance with the woman who caught the bouquet. Oh, heck no; she was not going to be stuck dancing with him again.

"Hey, Teo?" she asked sweetly. "Why don't we sneak outside for a bit? It's driving me crazy in here."

"Whatever you say," he smirked, and slowly wheeled backwards to the bar. He spun the chair around and cracked the door next to the end, creeping out with Toph still in her place.

The cool night air hit her at once and she realized just how hot it had been inside the hall. Teo continued to wheel them a bit down the alleyway until the music from inside became muffled.

Toph turned and ran a hand through his hair. "I missed you…" she said, pulling his lips to hers. He kissed back, placing a hand on the small of her back and holding her closer. After a minute her lips left his, kissing a trail across his cheek and jaw to his ear. "Don't you dare scare me like that again," she threatened, before returning to his mouth more fiercely than before.

His other hand migrated to the base of her neck, and his fingers twirled the loose hair at the base of her updo. "You won't have to worry about that," he breathed. The fingers went from the loose hair to the contained, and they slipped off the band holding her hair up. She felt it fall down over her shoulders, a blanket of warmth concealing her.

Toph pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "What took you so long," she inquired.

"I was talking to your father," he explained.

"About?" she asked, kissing him again.

His hand left her hair and found her left hand, intertwining her fingers in his. "I needed to ask him about a few things."

Her lips left another trail across his cheek. "What would be so intriguing to ask that crazy sonofabitch of all people?"

He resumed their previous position of their heads leaning together and his hand disappeared from her back. His other hand stroked her thumb and tightened his fingers' grip. "Something very important," he whispered, "very important to me."

His other hand returned, fisted, with just a finger and a thumb free, wrapping themselves around her wrist below the other, entwined hand.

"Like?" she breathed.

He kissed her nose. "Permission…" the fingers around her wrist tightened. "Toph…" he started, "I love you… so much. More than you could ever imagine. I lost you once, and it was living hell. I almost lost you a second time, and then a third." The second hand crept from her wrist to squeeze her palm, opening her hand and loosening her fingers. "I don't want to lose you again." He kissed her lips. "I'm not letting him take you from me again."

His hand moved form her palm to the base of her fingers, and the fingers rejoined the fist as the ones on his other hand began to untangle.

"You're my world, my everything, my best friend. I can't live without you." The hand that untangled itself from her fingers reached into the fist, and the hands switched positions. "And I don't want to," the newly freed hand spread her fingers, "and I'm not going to."

His now fisted hand unfolded, and she felt something metallic and warm with body heat slip onto her ring finger.

She could feel his breath on her face, and he kissed her again. Toph choked back tears. "Toph… would you do me the honor… of marrying me?"

A million thoughts ran through her head. She couldn't answer, couldn't speak. When she'd caught the bouquet, she felt this silly nagging hope that it might be a truth. It was the first time when she'd looked at the thought in a positive light. Being with the same person, forever. Being tied down in one place with one routine for the rest of her life; it had always been repulsive. It was the kind of life that she worked so hard to escape and avoid on more than one occasion. To willingly enclose herself to it? It had always seemed unreal.

There was the ingrained instinct to back away, to panic and run and never look back. It scared her and she'd always dreaded the concept. But at the same time… the thought of running broke her heart more than any of it. Leaving him behind, forever; it killed her, ripped her to pieces.

She loved him with all of her heart.

She'd gone to so much effort to avoid marrying Adesh once she'd discovered the plan, and Teo had put everything into helping her with this escape. Dancing with Adesh earlier, it had made her think. She was so glad that she hadn't married him. As they talked, it was like everything she had ever feared about the idea would have been true.

But Teo was not Adesh. He was Teo. He wasn't a nobleman, he was an inventor. He wasn't bore some, he was creative and fun and witty. And nothing with him had ever been routine. For years, nothing had ever fallen into a sequence. Everything was fresh and new and exciting. What would make this any different?

It would be a forever of fun, a forever of mystery and adventure. It would be exactly how it always had been with them, and it began to sound wonderful.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She thought about earlier, and how much it terrified her to think that he wasn't going to come back, hurt by her father's goons. She thought about when they'd been imprisoned, how everything had been more bearable by just his presence.

She'd always thought that if anyone ever proposed to her she would say no, and leave to never see them again. And she couldn't. Because for once… with him… she wanted it.

Toph blinked away tears and smiled softly, finally nodding her head, softly at first, then more and more vigorously.

She grinned and laughed and kissed him. "Yes… Yes!"

Teo clutched her hand again, pulling it to his chest. He let out a breath that she could tell he had been holding for a long time. She laughed and kissed him again, feeling him grin against her mouth.

When she laid her head across his chest, next to her hand, she could feel his heart hammering beyond belief, and she smiled. He buried his face in her hair. "I love you."

She tilted her head up and nuzzled his cheek. "I love you too." After a minute, she had to ask. "You actually asked him?" she wondered in awe.

Teo nodded. "I wouldn't have asked without doing it first."  
>"And he accepted?"<p>

He nodded his head again.

Toph shook her head. "That was unbelievably stupid and risky, you know. Who knows what he could have…"

Teo smirked. "Well, what's fun without a little risk?" he asked, quoting her own catch phrase from before her first kidnapping. She chuckled and returned to his neck, smiling.

It must have been nearly an hour that they sat outside, alone in the alley; the only sounds their breath and the faded thump of the music inside and the occasional murmur between kisses, completely content in each others company.

Both would have been fine with staying like _that_ forever, but eventually Toph realized that they would have to go back into the hall. She pulled their intertwined hands to her mouth and kissed his knuckle, then her ring. "They're probably wondering where we are," she admitted sadly.

Teo nodded. "We should probably go in soon," he said, bringing the hands from her lips to his own.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, taking in one last gulp of his air to hold her off before standing up. She left a hand on his arm. "Come on," she smiled.

He grinned. "After you," he purred, making her giggle.

"I'm serious," she laughed, "we have to go back in."

"Alright," he said, following her back towards the door. The night felt colder without his arms around her.

She twirled the ring on her finger, and her eyes widened. "Oh!" she cried. "Are we going to tell them already?"

Teo thought about this for a moment. "I'm not sure… well, do you want to?"

Toph shrugged. "I don't know… it's kind of quick, and… it kind of is _their_ day..."

"Alright, how about this. We won't say anything, but if they ask, we won't lie."

Toph laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Now come on already."

She opened the door and they snuck back in, unnoticed. The crowds had diminished severely, and Toph realized that it had gotten late. Only close friends and family remained; Hakoda, Sokka, their three cousins Hau, Fumi, and Isaye, Suki, Zuko, Iroh, Bumi, and Fakih, who was most likely waiting for their return to bring them home.

The music had ended and the tables had begun to be put away, leaving just a few put together in the middle of the room where the remaining guests sat. Katara and Aang had opened gifts, and now the group was talking. It reminded Toph of old times, their times after the war when they would sit like this at the end of every day. Like Teo had mentioned a few months ago, now everyone had grown up, and it was rare to find times like this.

They approached the table, first spotted by Sokka. "Hey!" He shouted. "Where have you been?"

Toph quirked an eyebrow. "Does it matter?" she demanded. She fisted her hand, using her thumb to conceal the ring from sight.

Sokka shrugged. "Well, you missed a lot. That garter guy ended up dancing with his fiancé, then one of those kids from the Fire Nation school tried hitting on Smellerbee and she threatened to stab him, then Longshot got pissed and punched him and they got into this awesome fight!" he grinned. He peered around her. "Hey! Teo! When did you even get here?!"

"During that mingling thing," Teo answered casually.

They took spots at the table and got caught up, laughing and joking with everyone just like they used to. Suki ended up spotting Toph's ring and to her surprise, nobody _was_ surprised; they'd all been expecting it and were more upset that it hadn't happened sooner. Sure, the girls gushed over the – what she was told it was – diamond inlaid jade stone, and Hau mocked her for her disbelief, and the guys all had to pat Teo on the back, and Fakih hugged them both, but other than that it was just casual news.

In the morning the newlyweds would be on their way to the Southern Air Temple for their honeymoon, which Toph preferred not to think about, so the couple eventually left around three in the morning. Once they were gone, Sokka and Suki were the next to go, bringing the cousins with them. With Zuko's help, Iroh finished up cleaning the teahouse and they turned in, the young Firelord staying the night in his spare room upstairs.

In the end it was just them and Fakih.

Fakih smiled and just looked at her. "You know… I always knew it. I always knew that my boy was going to make you my daughter, and now he's done it, and I was right, and he was right," he said. "He's been telling me ever since that war ended that he was gonna marry you and just looky now," he chuckled, "couldn't've been more accurate, that boy was."

Teo tensed and rubbed the back of his neck. Toph turned and rose an eyebrow at him, smirking. "Oh really now," she teased. "And I was just informed of this now? You know my opinion on being kept out of things."

"Well… er… I, uh…" Teo stammered, embarrassed. "I didn't want to risk…"

Toph laughed and took his hand. "I'm just teasing, Shorty. Besides, what's fun without a little risk, anyways?"

**Thats it, guys, the end :) **

**Considering a single chapter epilogue, but only if I get enough feedback on this one... So if the thought interests you, review or let me know **

**I hope you guys enjoyed! **


	12. Epilogue

A soft breeze blew in through an open window, stirring a strand of hair across her

face. Hair that was left cascading down from her bun and instead pinned together at the

base of her neck blew around the side of her body, enveloping her arm and the gosh

forsaken ruffles at the bottom left side of her knee length dress. Her wedding dress. Oh

Spirits.

For the first time in over a year, she'd been left alone to do things for herself. After

being pestered with constant questions of 'What do you think of this?' and 'What do you

think of that?' and 'Isn't that just gorgeous?' about just about everything imaginable, she'd

eventually snapped and just let Katara run the rest of the operation; as if she'd even

wanted to plan something like this in the first place. Lets just say legance... wasn't really

her thing.

Toph's fingers absentmindedly fingered the swirling embroidery running along the

right side of her dress, fanning from a point at the bottom and flaring upward to her hip.

To her surprise, she actually didn't mind the dress. It was silk and, and slightly tighter at

the torso, where it overlapped and tied in a traditional Earth Kingdom dress robe style, but

the bottom split at the corner clean up to her opposite hip in a point. The other half of the

bottom had ruffles spilling out over her leg to her knee, matching up to the bottom tip of

the sturdier material, but allowing for easier movement. Lose cap sleeves just over her

shoulders left free motion for her arms as well.

Katara had gone with her back to the dress shop, along with, much to her own

dismay, her mother. Although, the torture of that occasion was made bearable by the

reaction of the saleswoman upon her entry. The same obnoxious woman from the day

she nearly tore apart the store in battle before being abducted,she nearly fainted at the

mere sight of her return. The confusion of Poppy at this fear also gave her some

satisfaction. Toph also noted that the shop no longer had a harpist.

Much to her surprise, Katara had found a pair of dance slippers made up of a

material so thin it was nearly invisible to her feet. Both her and Poppy opted for her to

wear them with the dress. Though she was still able to clearly feel vibrations while

wearing them, Toph didn't like the feel of having the wispy fabric rubbing against her feet

and decided on something simpler.

The thin anklet tinkled softly as she stood to close the window. She put her hands

on the frame and stood for a second, inhaling a breath of cool air from outside. It was

finally the day.

In all of her life, she'd never expected this day to come. When she was younger,

she didn't exactly get out to see much, thanks to her parents, and was never all that big

on fairy tales either. If the thought of future marriage ever crossed her mind, it was a

simple wonder of what kind of man her father would end up betrothing her to once she

came of age. Such a person ended up being the heir to a business in Makapu, whom

was drier than dry and had little more than money on his mind, not too unlike her father.

Sheltered as she was growing up, she always knew businessmen were never exactly

her type.

Even though her parents seemed to have a decent relationship (judging by what

she would rarely witness of them), the idea of an inevitable arranged marriage spending

the remainder of her days in boredom with a stranger of her parent's choosing never

seemed appealing. And if it weren't for Teo, she just might have ended up in one.

As she got older and left to experience freedom, the thought of tying herself down

to anyone still never crossed her mind. After her childhood locked up, she made a vow to

herself never to be tied anywhere again.

This idea was further embedded into her brain after her imprisonment in the

estate basement not too long ago. The only reason the long duress was bearable was

having Teo's companionship; he miraculously kept her grounded, not only preventing her

murder of Lao but even managing to help solve the problem at the root. The week drove

her nearly to insanity, leaving little in her mind but fury towards her father, her captor, for

what he'd done.

Though she highly doubted it , would it be possible to feel the same hatred

towards a man keeping her in a home? Not captive by definition, but without the freewill to

move and change location and scenery. A life in one home with one person whom you

could not just leave; a family, a husband. Teo.

Could she really grow to hate Teo over time? Toph's stomach grew queasy, and

she gripped the windowsill tighter, fighting a sudden urge to vomit. She took another

breath of fresh air, leaning her head and shoulders out of the window to let the breeze

cool her face and send her hair fluttering about once again. She could feel the sun

warming her right cheek, and turned her head to face it.

Outside it was so calm and peaceful, the city outskirts being quiet with nature.

The only sounds she could hear were the rustling of the leaves of a few nearby trees, and

a faint, quiet murmuring from around the other side of the building where people were

arriving.

Her stomach began to stir once again. She wasn't sure how long it was before

the ceremony, but she knew it would be soon.

After she left home, and after the war, there had been one constant in her

concious life, and even in her lapse. Her best friend as everyone else in the gaang grew

up and had less time to just hang out and be kids in the city. Her partner in crime on

numerous occasions, potentially related to the previous. The only person who cared

enough and missed her enough to notice when she was gone. The person who flew

halfway around the Nation to not only recognize her as Sadako while knowing nothing

about her past, but shake her out of a brainwashed state and rescue her, bringing her

back to his own home when she had nowhere else to stay. Stayed with her as friends

and teammates left entirely, their own lives taking root. Stayed with her through

kidnapping, keeping her sane through her weakness. Doing whatever it took to make her

happy a

simple job in itself, but still. Could she really grow to hate him?

There was a soft knock on the door. "Toph," Katara muttered, "it's time." She

had one hand on the doorknob, about to turn it.

No, there was no way, Toph thought. That would never happen. Inhaling one last

time, she shut the window with a thud, and turned towards the door. "I'll be out in a

second." Her fingers trailed the cool glass of the pane as she make her way across the

room. Katara had leaned against the wall on the other side of the door, waiting. With a

gulp, Toph reached for the knob. Oh boy.

She exited the dressing room to meet a grinning Maid of Honor. "Are you ready?"

Katara asked.

Toph smiled weakly. "Well, I guess so." She fondled the thin chain ropes looping

along half of her hip, hooking her thumb around one as they made their way down the hall

to the chamber that the ceremony was to be held in.

"You look pretty," Katara offered, giggling.

"Thanks...I'm sure you do, too," Toph joked, lightly tapping her shoulder with her fist.

Since Katara had pretty much planned the whole wedding, she'd gotten to pick out her

own dresses for the bridesmaids as well; with approval of the basic descriptions by

Toph, of course. She was attired in long traditional Earth Kingdom dress robes, the tie

sash scattered with a few decorative jewels to signify her as the maid of honor, and she

had a lily tucked into her hair. Two bouquets were held in her hands. The larger or

which, she handed to Toph as they reached a large double door.

In front of the door, the wedding party had already gathered in two lines.

Bridesmaids Hau, Ty Lee, and a Kyoshi Warrior named whom Toph had befriended,

stood to the left, and groomsmen ordered at the right- Jukari,

The Duke, Aang. Most of her friends were in front of her. The thought calmed her slightly. They were all here as

reinforcements. Everyone... except Teo. Katara squeezed Toph's hand and took her

place beside Haru, Teo's best man.

Inside the chamber, a pair of ushers opened the heavy doors, and the soft music

inside drifted out. The room was mostly quiet, with just the music, the clinking of a large

chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and the chatter of a small crowd, much smaller than

that at her friends' wedding, for which she was thankful.

An organ joined the tune inside of the chamber, and Toph clutched the stems of

her bouquet tightly. Two by two, her backup silently left her, drifting in pairs to the front of

the long room. Even though it would be a pointless effort, she half wished that the

miniature silk veil attached to her headband was long enough for her to extend over her

face and hide. Toph chuckled; who was she, a child? Toughen up!

Lastly, Katara and Haru exited the entryway and walked up to the front of the hall,

and she was left along. she felt them take their places as the organist changed the

melody. It was time.

Toph stepped forward, now in the doorway, and the audience rose to their feet.

Left foot. She noticed Teo up front, looking around. Her nerves calmed. Right foot. She

was now totally in the chamber.

She felt someone take her arm, and she turned to face her father.

Lao gave her a gentle smile. "You look beautiful," he whispered. She smiled.

"Thanks, dad."

Left foot, together. Right foot, together. In harmony with the organ's tune. Left,

together, right. Slowly, oh so slowly, they glided down the aisle.

The last year had been exhausting. After butting heads in argument after

argument, Lao had finally given up on her being a little society princess. Today was

about the closest it was ever going to get. Whether or not he was beginning to accept

the real her, he'd at least pulled his head out of his ass long enough to accept who she

was not and was never going to be. After that was out of the way, she was accepted

back into the family, regardless of how little she visited.

That amount had increased slightly in the last six months, however. Now that her

parents finally grew up, their relationship with their only daughter had begun to mend.

Toph preferred not to think that this was due to fear of losing their only heir. It was a slow

process, but nonetheless. She now met up with her mother once a month in the city, and

her father would consult her with stocks on Earth Rumble merchandising.

She was halfway up the aisle. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as she passed

her friends from Earthrumble. The Hippo tried to hide that he'd been wiping his eyes, but

to no avail. She found it hilarious, especially from the brute five times her size.

Toph still took on her alter ego of The Blind Bandit whenever there was a

tournament around, but when the games were in another area of the Earth Kingdom, she

stayed back home. Every once and awhile, the boys would come by to hang out. When

they weren't opponents, surprisingly they viewed her more as a younger sister, much to

her annoyance. However, she did find their meeting Teo an amusing scene. The

Boulder had been especially adamant at threatening the poor boy, who was scared for

his life while she tried to contain her laughter before eventually coming to his rescue.

She let out a smile as she passed Iroh, who sat contently with _ , his new female

companion. The woman was about his age, had a large mole on her chin and was

downright rude, but the two made each other happy, so she let it slide. She used to be a

vendor for a ferry, but apparently had met Iroh a while back, and ran into him one day

while stopping for tea in the city.

Toph took a deep breath. She was almost to the alter.

Towards the front, she heard a whimper, and tried to discern whether it came

from the tiny infant or its equally mature father who, just as the child, tried burying his

face into his wife's shoulder. Toph shook her head. She wouldn't trust the imbecile with

a child, but knowing the way the couple acted, she was surprised that it hadn't happened

years ago already.

As she passed the front pews, she stopped momentarily as instructed. Her father kissed

her cheek before leaving her side to join Poppy in her seat. The music quieted but continued

until she made her last steps up to the altar beside a grinning Teo. She handed her bouquet to

Katara as the music stopped, and turned back to face Teo, who took her hands in his.

The preacher cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentleman, we gather you here today..."

Toph tuned out as Teo signaled for her to bend down slightly so he could whisper in her ear.

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" he asked.

Her thoughts returned to her earlier hesitations, and she grew a little nervous. She

pursed her lips before leaning down to speak as her thoughts cleared. She smiled into his ear.

"What's fun without a little risk?"


	13. Author's Note

**Wow, two years ago when I started Forget Me Not - the predecessor to Fun Without Risk - I'd never**  
><strong>imagined that it would mean so much to me. This has been the biggest writing project I've done, and I'm proud of it. I have mixed feelings about it all being done. Sure, there have been some ups and downs, in fact many, along the way, but it was all worth it. I feel as if my writing, as well as myself, has grown up along with the characters.<strong>

**Yes, I do admit that I've strongly procrastinated on the last few bits; I didn't want it to end. But now its finally over.**

**Thank you to everyone who's reading this, whether you've stuck it out with me from the beginning, though hiatuses and writer's block and just plain stubbornness, or if you've just started. Your favoriting, following, and especially enthusiastic and encouraging reviews have kept me going and made me smile on so many occasions. Thank you so much. :)**  
><strong>I love you all!<strong>  
><strong>AO<strong>


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